Samsung teams up with startup making vision-assistance headsets

A user wears one of IrisVision’s headsets in front of the Sydney Opera House. The company recently struck a partnership with Samsung,

Samsung launched a new partnership with IrisVision, a startup making wearable vision-assistance devices. The Pleasanton, California-based company makes virtual-reality headsets that allow users with low vision to see around them with a wide field of view.

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“With this partnership, Samsung’s technology and support, along with its global channels and partner network, it will also enable the next generation of IrisVision products to diagnose and treat conditions remotely anywhere in the world,” IrisVision CEO and co-founder Ammad Khan said in a news release

The startup was founded in 2017 by Khan and Frank Werblin, a professor of neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley. The company has since launched clinical trials with Johns Hopkins, Stanford and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Its system is currently designed to help patients with macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa and other common eye conditions. IrisVision is registered as an FDA Class I medical device.

IrisVision currently uses Samsung’s hardware. That includes its smartphones, virtual reality headsets and mobile AI platform. Through the partnership with Samsung, IrisVision will work with its research and development teams to further expand its use of Samsung’s technologies. Samsung will also help the company scale as it brings its technology to market.

“It is amazing to see what IrisVision is doing to enable the large and underserved low vision community to live more independently,” Edward Choi, Samsung Electronics’ corporate vice president of global strategic alliances, said in a news release. “We will help guide IrisVision on technology integration and market strategy to ultimately help every affected patient.”