Kubota Vision Initiates PBOS Prospective Study in Patients
Kubota Vision announced that on January 17, 2022, the first patient has enrolled and completed the first visit in a prospective study in Japan using the company's Patient Based Ophthalmology Suite (PBOS), in-home optical coherence tomography (OCT) device.
The study is being led by Shozo Sonoda, MD, PhD, at Kagoshima Sonoda Eye Clinic and Plastic Surgery in Japan, targeting approximately 40 subjects for enrollment. The company will loan its PBOS devices to generate data that will be used to improve the device.
“Innovative medical information and communication technology is in huge demand, especially for at-home health care. We believe that it will soon become possible to gather accurate medical data at home using high-performance yet scaled-down medical devices. These technologies provide a great number of potentials, but there are usability challenges to overcome before actual home-use implementation," Dr. Sonoda said in a company news release. "The PBOS operates on the same principle as OCT devices used at hospitals but is developed so patients can operate it by themselves at home. We will evaluate the usage of the device by patients and hope to contribute our findings for further advancement in ophthalmology.”
Ryo Kubota, MD, PhD, Chairman, President and CEO of Kubota Vision, stated, “We are grateful that Dr. Sonoda is interested in our OCT device and sees the potential advantages the device could offer. We have conducted multiple studies worldwide, and this will be the first where the device will be utilized for a study in Japan. I, as a Japanese, am proud and excited to share the new observations that will come about from this study in Japan.”
About PBOS
PBOS is a low-cost, home-based, ophthalmic self-monitoring OCT device. This small handheld device addresses needs in mobile Health (mHealth*2) applications for self-monitoring of retina health by patients, in the home and in remote field locations. The PBOS aims to improve ophthalmic treatment outcomes in patients diagnosed with and treated for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and other neovascular retinal diseases. PBOS is being designed to detect nascent disease progression and support patient re-treatment prior to irreversible vision loss due to disease progression. Key features are low cost and a patient-friendly design, to be used directly by patients at home. PBOS is being designed to capture changes in retinal anatomy. Network connectivity and cloud-based technologies are used to alert the patients and their physicians of disease progression and re-treatment needs.
*2 mHealth refers to the usage of mobile communications technology and devices to enhance access to healthcare information, improve distribution of routine and emergency health services, and provide diagnostic services.
Dr. Sonoda is an experienced ophthalmologist specializing in cornea, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and vitreoretinal diseases. He is actively involved in the Japanese Ophthalmological Society, the Japan Ophthalmologists Association, the Japanese Retina and Vitreous Society, the Japanese Society for Ocular Circulation, the Japanese Society of Artificial Intelligence in Ophthalmology, the Japanese Society of Ophthalmic Surgery, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and the Japanese Society for Ocular Pharmacology.