July 22, 2026
Deya, a technology startup that aims to help eyecare professionals (ECPs) deliver doctor-controlled tele-eyecare services to their patients through a smartphone app, has entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) to support a new research project. The research, led by investigators Yi Pang, OD, PhD, FAAO, Jennifer Harthan, OD, FAAO, FSLS, and Erica Ittner, OD, aims to collect anterior segment eye images through the high-definition camera on a smartphone, using an innovative new system called Deya Imaging.
The research goal is to aid in the advancement of Deya’s AI clinical decision support (CDS) tool that analyzes such images on behalf of ECPs that will utilize Deya to provide digital eyecare services through the patient’s smartphone. This care will be at the direction of the patient’s ECP, for cases where digital remote care is appropriate for triage cases or follow-up of cases recently seen in-clinic, allowing for a zero distance relationship between provider and patient.
In the research protocol, Deya Imaging’s proprietary smartphone auto-capture system will be utilized to acquire images of a variety of anterior segment diseases as well as various contact lens positional findings. Once acquired, the images will be submitted to a HIPAA-compliant cloud repository that houses the AI system’s training data. Ongoing AI system training will be accomplished by a standardized labeling process overseen by a team of ECPs including Chief Medical Officer, Scott Jens, OD, FAAO, and CEO, Jovi Boparai, MD.
Through the labeling process, the Deya AI image analysis engine will advance its training to provide the most effective clinical decision support for users of the Deya tele-eyecare software system. This research project aims to enhance the AI system’s ability to detect eye findings and conditions to support the eye doctor in their care journey. This is the only known such project that leverages smartphone-acquired anterior segment images for CDS guidance.
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Dr. Pang said, “ICO and its clinic, the Illinois Eye Institute, has consistently been on cutting edge of eye care research and through this opportunity sponsored by Deya, we aim to help eye doctors take better care of their patients by collecting high-quality images that will advance the AI system that is at the center of giving them clinical decision support when their patients submit their own eye images as part of their doctor-directed eyecare.”
Dr. Jens added “Deya is thrilled to have internationally recognized researchers like Drs. Pang, Harthan and Ittner committed to enhancing the CDS functionality of Deya’s AI image analysis infrastructure. With their rigorous clinical research, this tool will ultimately have an incredible impact on digital eyecare services delivered by optometrists and ophthalmologists that leverage the Deya connected care software platform to serve their patients.”
The research project will run through the end of 2026 and represents one of nearly 150 research studies that are in progress at ICO. ICO’s Dr. Newton K. Wesley Research Center opened in 2024 as part of ICO’s growing commitment to be an academic research leader amongst optometry education institutions.
