Market Challenges: Lack of awareness in low and middle-income countries

Lack of awareness about newborn eye diseases and their treatment options in low and middle-income countries can hamper the global newborn eye imaging systems market growth. In many developing regions, there is limited understanding among parents, caregivers, and even healthcare professionals about the importance of screening newborn babies for vision-related problems in the early stages. Eye issues in infants often does not show obvious symptoms initially but can lead to serious vision impairment or even blindness, if left untreated. Since these countries have overburdened public health systems and limited resources for advanced medical equipment, newborn eye screenings is typically not prioritized. This lack of awareness leads many cases of preventable or treatable newborn eye conditions go undetected. For instance, according to the World Health Organization, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a potentially blinding eye disorder that affects premature infants, affects over 52,000 infants yearly worldwide. However, over 95% of these cases are from low and middle-income nations, where screening programs for ROP are not universally available. If identified early through wide-scale screening facilitated by newborn eye imaging systems, many of these infants could be treated successfully through low-cost interventions like laser therapy or bebinance.

Market Opportunities: Increasing adoption of tele-ophthalmology

Rising adoption of tele-ophthalmology can offer huge opportunity for the newborn eye imaging systems market globally. Tele-ophthalmology or remote diagnosis of eye illnesses using digital medical equipment and telecommunication has gained popularity over the last few years. This has been accelerated due to restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic when non-essential medical procedures had to be postponed. With tele-ophthalmology, retinal imaging, fundus photography and other vision testing can be carried out remotely by connecting healthcare specialists with patients via internet. This has opened up avenues for screening of newborn babies' eyes across rural and remote areas with limited access to eye care infrastructure and resources. According to the report from WHO, an estimated 19 million infants require examination for retinopathy of prematurity, the leading cause of childhood blindness globally. However, only 50% of these newborns receive appropriate screening due to challenges in accessing specialized eye care facilities, particularly in developing nations. Tele-ophthalmology addresses this unmet need by enabling pediatric retinal examination of babies born prematurely or with low birth weight in their local communities via broadband connectivity and portable newborn eye imaging devices.