EyRIS: AI for eye-disease screening

• Main Authors: MILLER, Steven, GOMULYA, David, RAO-KACHROO, Mahima
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2023
• Subjects: Blue ocean strategy; strategic thinking; go-to-market strategy; growth strategy; marketing plans; resource management; Artificial Intelligence and Robotics; Databases and Information Systems
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/464; https://smu.sharepoint.com/sites/admin/CMP/cases/SMU-23-BATCH%20%5BPDF-Pic%5D/SMU-23-0016%20%5BEyRIS%5D/SMU-23-0016%20%5BEyRIS%5D.pdf?CT=1695089510749&OR=ItemsView
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Formed in 2018, EyRIS was the brainchild of a long-term collaboration across healthcare researchers and practitioners, and computer scientists. EyRIS was launched to commercialise and sell an AI-driven algorithm called SELENA+ that analysed retinal images to screen for diabetes-related eye diseases. Over time, many moving parts came together to facilitate full-scale production usage of SELENA+ within the national-level Singapore Integrated Diabetic Retinopathy Programme (SiDRP). The facilitators included multiple individuals in the public healthcare sector medical field, and several government institutions such as Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH), the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), and Singapore’s national healthtech agency, amongst others. Over the years, the algorithm was further fine-tuned and trained on as wide a data set as possible in studies that spanned ethnicities and age groups, eventually yielding highly accurate results. SELENA+’s results bridged the gap between research discovery and real-world use. Now, the team at EyRis had to commercialise SELENA+ and bring it to a wider range of markets and geographies. They faced numerous challenges in the process, within Singapore and in other countries. Nevertheless, by 2023, EyRIS’ efforts paid off and the SELENA+ algorithm received regulatory approvals for use in a growing number of countries. Now, EyRIS’ commercial heads, along with Dr Wong and the other co-founders, wondered how best they could continue to scale EyRIS’ market reach and offerings. The case teaches students to recognise the contextual factors that contribute to the development of an AI product, and efforts by start-ups to harness the capabilities of that AI product, to commercialise it. This often involves opportunity recognition, understanding and utilising the resources that a company has in hand, recognising the value and feasibility of the product, and creating ‘Blue Oceans’ as part of one’s growth strategy.