Toku Eyes, the New Zealand-based developer of a multi-modal artificial intelligence platform for instant healthcare diagnostics, today announced it is bringing its newest technology (ORAiCLE™) to the United States. ORAiCLE™ can assess the cardiovascular risk of an individual through a retinal scan, more accurately than the current gold standard and is more cost-effective and easily accessible through locations such as pharmacies and self-service retinal photo kiosks.

136 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes today, and over the next ten years, one in three will have a heart attack, while one in ten will go blind. Yet, more than 80 percent of these outcomes are preventable if those with high risk are identified early. However, the methods used to identify high-risk people have traditionally been inaccurate, costly, and invasive. 40 percent of those with diabetes or prediabetes cannot even access critical screening due to distance or lack of appointments.

It is often unknown that the cardiovascular system is able to be photographed through the eye. Toku Eyes has created ORAiCLE™ as an AI platform to recognize minute changes in the blood vessels, capillaries, and arteries, pigmentation, calcification, etc., and use this to stratify the person’s risk of having a cardiovascular event, such as a stroke or heart attack, in the next 5 years. Research results suggest that ORAiCLE™ can be more accurate than traditional risk calculators that are being used in advanced healthcare systems (such as the Mayo Clinic’s equation in the United States).

Its proprietary patent-pending technology uses an image of the back of the eye taken from a retinal camera, allowing the test to be done almost anywhere, especially with new retinal cameras becoming smaller and more portable. Additionally, learning to use a retinal camera and the AI software requires minimal training, which means anyone can conduct the test. Within seconds of receiving an image, Toku Eyes’ AI platform can then assess the risks of a cardiovascular event or blindness and provide personalized wellness and lifestyle advice or indicate the need for specialist referral for preventative care.