Verana Health and Bitfount Partner to Automate Eye Trial Screening

The partnership leverages Bitfount’s federated AI platform to process OCT and fundus scans locally, generating eligibility flags that integrate directly into Verana’s Trail Connect software. This system allows clinical sites to cross-reference imaging data against trial protocols alongside traditional EHR metrics. The methodology recently earned clinical validation through a pilot program at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Sujay Jadhav, CEO of Verana Health, noted that the integration helps research teams bypass the common pitfalls of mismatched enrollment and costly study amendments. By automating the screening process, the technology minimizes the risk of screen failures while maintaining existing data privacy standards. Bitfount CEO Blaise Thomson added that the goal is to align trial recruitment more closely with the realities of diverse patient populations.

Verana Health brings significant scale to the project through its exclusive access to the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s IRIS Registry, which contains longitudinal data on over 90 million patients. This wealth of information, combined with Bitfount’s image analysis, aims to streamline the development of treatments for conditions including macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.