Topcon Healthcare, Inc. launched IDHea, Inc., the Institute for Digital Health, a new company dedicated to transforming clinical research in eye care and oculomics, the company said in a press release. Founded by Topcon Healthcare as the lead investor, IDHea will operate with its own governance structure and collaborate closely with a consortium of industry, clinical, and technology partners. Leveraging Topcon Healthcare’s global relationships in ophthalmology and optometry as well as its role in US primary care eye screening, IDHea integrates multimodal data, artificial intelligence, and modern research infrastructure to accelerate drug discovery and enable more inclusive, data-driven care, Topcon Healthcare said in the press release.
Through partnerships with primary care networks, eyecare providers, academic centers, and life-science organizations, IDHea is building an interoperable data ecosystem that advances biomarker discovery, translational research, and clinical decision-making, noted Topcon Healthcare
With its platform now live and collaborations underway, IDHea is engaging partners across therapeutic areas, including geographic atrophy and neovascular age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, neuroprotection, and systemic applications of oculomics in cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases, said Topcon Healthcare.
Additionally, the company said, IDHea is developing comprehensive data platforms for ophthalmic and oculomics research. By uniting large-scale imaging data with AI-driven analysis and patient selection tools, the platform shortens research timelines for diagnostics, drug development, and population health studies. The eye’s visibility into neural and microvascular tissue enables IDHea to uncover links between ocular health and systemic diseases, from cardiovascular and metabolic disorders to neurological decline. Integrating imaging, clinical, and genomic information, IDHea supports discovery of new biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
The platform is designed for interoperability with EMRs and compliance with global privacy and regulatory standards. It enables sponsors, reading centers, and CROs to generate real-world evidence, combine manual and AI-assisted image grading, and monitor data quality and protocol compliance through real-time dashboards.
By leveraging Topcon Healthcare’s network, IDHea extends clinical participation beyond traditional eye care centers to include optical retail, kiosks, and primary care practices. This decentralized model broadens patient access, increases trial diversity, and improves recruitment efficiency, helping bring novel therapies to patients faster, Topcon Healthcare said in the press release.