Renewed collaboration will expand access to training and technology for eye care professionals in underserved communities
Heidelberg Engineering is extending its partnership with sight-saving charity Orbis, to help improve eye health services in underserved areas. Building on their successful collaboration in 2024, the med-tech imaging and data solutions company will:
- Continue to fund crucial teaching opportunities for eye care professionals
- Support global training efforts via Cybersight (Orbis’s award-winning telemedicine and e-learning platform)
Doctors and nurses from around the world can take advantage of the free courses and seminars via Cybersight
Image courtesy: Orbis UK
The global challenge of vision loss
Ninety percent of the 1.1 billion people living with vision loss and blindness reside in low- and middle-income countries. Cybersight is dedicated to providing eye care teams with free access to training, knowledge, and other resources, no matter their location. In 2024, four live webinars were delivered via the platform and this year, a new series of supported sessions will empower thousands of eye care professionals worldwide and elevate the quality of eye care in their communities.
Empowering eye care professionals via Cybersight
Focusing on how optical coherence tomography (OCT) can enhance the diagnosis, management, and treatment of a range of ophthalmic conditions, the sessions were joined over 2050 times by eye care professionals last year. This included audiences from conflict-affected areas such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Ukraine, where access to learning and mentorship services can be severely hampered.
Four virtual training sessions will take place over the course of 2025. The first webinar is:
9th June 2025, 1:00 PM UTC – The Novel Diagnostic Tools for Optic Neuropathies and Glaucoma (sign up here)
Details for the next sessions will be released in due course on the Cybersight website.
Sight-saving research support
Heidelberg Engineering’s strategic support also allowed Orbis to complete its research project into retinoblastoma, a childhood cancer affecting 9,000 children annually. Key outcomes from the study, published in JCO Global Oncology, included:
- Telemedicine significantly improves care and increases survival rates for children with retinoblastoma
- Virtual mentorship enhances diagnosis, disease classification, and treatment outcomes
Hunter Cherwek, Vice President, Clinical Services and Technologies at Orbis International, says: “At Orbis, we believe that everyone, no matter where they live, deserves access to quality eye care. Our partnership with Heidelberg Engineering is instrumental as it allows us to collaborate on sharing information about cutting-edge technology and expertise with eye care professionals around the world including in communities with limited resources. Together, we are not only improving skills, but also working to save sight and transform futures.”
Kfir Azoulay, Managing Director at Heidelberg Engineering, says: “We are honoured to support our partner’s enduring commitment to eliminating avoidable blindness by expanding access to training and technology in eye care for all, regardless of location.”
Orbis has been transforming lives through the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness for over four decades. With a network of partners across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the charity is working to make eye care available everywhere, for everyone, so that no one has to experience the consequences of avoidable blindness and sight loss.
About Orbis
Orbis is a leading global non-governmental organisation that has been a pioneer in the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness for over four decades. Orbis transforms lives by delivering the skills, resources and knowledge needed to deliver accessible quality eye care. Working in collaboration with local partners, including hospitals, universities, government agencies and ministries of health, Orbis provides hands-on training, strengthens healthcare infrastructure and advocates for the prioritisation of eye health on public health agendas. Orbis operates the world’s only fully accredited Flying Eye Hospital, an ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft, and an award-winning telemedicine platform, Cybersight.
About Heidelberg Engineering
Heidelberg Engineering pioneers imaging and data technologies to optimize ophthalmic solutions that empower eye care professionals who want to improve the holistic health of patients. Since 1990, uncompromising quality and education play a large part in fostering the diagnostic confidence that has become synonymous with the global brand. The SPECTRALIS multi-modal imaging platform for the posterior segment offers unparalleled retinal image quality and reproducibility, supporting the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma, AMD, diabetic retinopathy and many other retinal diseases. The ANTERION multi-disciplinary imaging platform is an easy-to-use, all-in-one anterior segment solution, with all measurements based solely on high-quality OCT technology. The HEYEX 2 image management and device integration platform manages all diagnostic images and supports workflow efficiency with standardized data and interfaces.
Media Contacts
Rose Comber, Media & PR Manager, Orbis UK
rcomber@orbis.org.uk
Josefine van ‘t Hof, Global Team Lead Marketing Communications, Heidelberg Engineering
Josefine.vantHof@HeidelbergEngineering.com
