Siloton partners with the Macular Society to investigate the feasibility of new home-based imaging technology for UK eye patients.
BRISTOL, England (June 2022) – Siloton Limited, a revolutionary new HealthTech startup, has announced the initiation of an Innovate-UK-funded project working alongside the Macular Society.
25% of over 60’s in Europe suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and those with the ‘wet’ form of the disease have to attend hospital to assess whether they need a costly treatment that involves injecting medicine into the eye. However, patients differ greatly in how often they need treatment, meaning that many hospital visit could be avoided while some individuals do not attend frequently enough.
This project seeks to understand whether the circumstances in the UK are suitable for a new home-based monitoring service for patients with wet AMD, allowing them to receive specialist eye scans in the comfort of their own home. Such a service would reduce unnecessary visits to the hospital and enable personalised treatment regimes, minimising any patient discomfort that arises from the injections. The project will focus on conducting a health economics review, engaging with regulatory experts, and building a prototype system for automated image analysis. In addition, Siloton will partner with the Macular Society to hold patient focus groups, discussing the problems patients currently face as well as their potential appetite for this new technology.
Dr Ben Hunt, Siloton’s Chief Commercial Officer explained that “Siloton plans to put diagnostic imaging technology directly into the homes of patients. This device will be used by AMD sufferers several times a week and their scans will be uploaded to the cloud, where a computer will check if treatment is required. If so, patients can be rapidly brought into the hospital for treatment. However, if their condition is stable, then they can avoid going to the hospital entirely, saving everyone time and money.”
Cathy Yelf, Chief Executive of the Macular Society said, “We are very pleased to hear that Innovate UK has funded Siloton’s bid and look forward to supporting Siloton’s patient-and-public-involvement effort. We strongly believe that companies such as Siloton, who integrate the views of patients right from the start of their developmental journey, will produce better products that patients want to use”.
Dr Alasdair Price, CEO of Siloton, commented that “We are delighted to have been awarded this funding, giving us the opportunity to work alongside the Macular Society. We particularly look forward to discussing our ideas with patients and finding out how we can develop a product that is both helpful and enjoyable for them to use.”
This grant is enabled by the funds raised as part of Siloton’s first investment round. Limited capacity remains for further investment in Siloton within this round. Any investors interested in learning more about Siloton are encouraged to contact Dr Ben Hunt, Chief Commercial Officer, using investors@siloton.com.
About Siloton
Siloton is developing an at-home monitoring service for the 25% of over 60’s with age-related macular degeneration. This service will reduce the burden of treatment, alleviating pressure on healthcare systems, while helping patients retain their sight for longer. Siloton’s service will combine a next-generation diagnostic imaging device with cloud-based digital health tools that will enable clinicians to deliver an unparalleled quality of care to their patients.
Siloton was founded in April 2020 in Bristol, UK and is an alumnus of the Quantum Technologies Enterprise Centre (QTEC) incubator programme. At the core of Siloton’s new generation of diagnostic imaging device is a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) that allows Siloton to realise order of magnitude reductions in size and cost while increasing device robustness.
To find out more, visit www.siloton.com or follow updates on Siloton’s LinkedIn page.
Contact
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