Eye care is essential for overall well-being. But despite its importance, billions of people worldwide lack access to quality and affordable eye care. Vision impairment ranks as the third leading cause of disability globally, affecting an estimated 2.2 billion people, nearly half of whom have conditions that could be prevented or treated. Moreover, 90% of those without access to eye care reside in low-and-middle-income countries. Traditional equipment for visioning screening and diagnostics is too expensive and not portable to reach low-resourced settings, especially rural communities.
Phelcom is a Brazilian-American company addressing these gaps to democratize access to vision care globally, supported by a new investment from J&J Impact Ventures, an investment fund within the J&J Foundation. They have developed innovative handheld cameras that capture high-quality images of both the anterior and posterior regions of the eye, but at a fraction of the cost of traditional benchtop equipment. Their smart devices are also AI-enabled, providing assessment for over 50 eye and vision-related diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and glaucoma.
Phelcom’s solutions significantly improve vision care and workflow efficiency, making timely diagnosis and treatment possible where it was previously difficult or impossible. The company has already reached over 5 million patients in Brazil and other countries. J&J Impact Ventures invested in Phelcom to accelerate the scaling of their devices to reach more patients around the world.
“Phelcom’s mission to dramatically improve eye health globally, especially in rural and resource-limited settings, is core to our goals,” said Antonio Rodriguez, Portfolio Manager at Impact Ventures. “Their technology empowers health workers to deliver high-quality eye exams in a wide range of environments, and we are proud to support its growth.”
