June 23, 2020 08:00 ET
Ocutrx Vision Technologies, LLC, a global technology manufacturing Augmented Reality (AR) and Extended Reality (XR) headset company is excited to reveal the final design rendition for the Oculenz™ ARwear™ headset. Karten Design was selected to enhance design elements of the Oculenz glasses for commercial launch next year. The new Oculenz™ headset, with a resolution of 60 pixels-per-degree, which is higher than 4K, will be the highest resolution AR/XR headset in the market. Featuring a field of view (FOV) of 60 degrees horizontally and 36 degrees vertically, Oculenz™ provides the largest viewing area of any AR headset. The Oculenz™ FOV mimics the 16:9 ratio of a television screen in each eye, which is a very recognizable aspect ratio.
Working together since 2018, Karten Design is an award-winning medical device design firm which has been the chosen design partner since Ocutrx entered the ARwear market. As one of the industry leaders in medical device design and architecture, Karten has created innovative forms for numerous leading medical device companies like Abbot, Baxter, Boston Scientific, and Medtronics, For Ocutrx, Karten Designs will elevate the ergonomics and aesthetics of Oculenz™ headset.
“Inspired by deep empathy for the needs of consumers, patients, caregivers and clinical professionals, K:D designs products people love,” said Stuart Karten, founder and president of Karten Design (K:D). “We inspire users to buy in at a deep emotional level, which motivates behavior change, increases adherence and enables better health outcomes.
Ocutrx is planning to release in the first quarter of 2021 the commercial version of its AR/XR headset that enables improved vision for patients with low vision from conditions such as Advanced Macular Degeneration (AMD). While most other products are virtual reality based (i.e. immersive and cannot allow for use while walking) and only offer magnification, the Oculenz™ features pixel manipulation algorithms which buffers areas previous not seen by the eye into healthy functional retina. This enables patients to read and see faces previously unable to be seen.
“Each of our eyes have a blind spot that corresponds to where the optic nerve exits the eye, but the brain compensates and does not see this blind spot and fills in this area with visual input,” explained Dr. Linda Lam MD MBA, Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer for Ocutrx. “The Oculenz™ device uses this concept by taking the image unable to be seen by patients as it is in the area of the blind spot or scotoma affected by macular degeneration and moves this image onto adjacent healthy retina. Oculenz™ AR device maps the image in the area of vision missing using algorithms and shifts the visual information to adjacent healthy retina, customized for each eye. In addition, Oculenz™ monitors this scotoma and enables remote monitoring of the disease. If the scotoma changes, the device alerts the physician as the eye may have a new problem such as new bleeding, and the doctor can alert the patient to come to the office to be evaluated and to receive possible treatment to prevent further visual loss.”
Dr. Linda Lam and other physicians have presented Ocutrx’s Pilot Clinical Trial data in over 11 countries at invited presentations at myriad ophthalmic, scientific, and technology conferences. The Oculenz™ AR headset for AMD was a featured product in the opening session at the Academy President’s Opening Address. by Dr. George A. Williams, MD, at the American Academy of Ophthalmology conference in 2019. Recently in June 2020, Oculenz AR headset was named the best augmented device in the healthcare market by Healthcare Tech Outlook.
“We are delighted to collaborate with the Karten Design team to create a bold statement in innovation and fashion with our Oculenz™ headset for advanced macular degeneration and low vision” said Michael H. Freeman JD, CEO/CTO of Ocutrx, “Karten’s aptitude for ergonomics and mechanics are a welcome addition to our existing engineering and design so that we together will craft the most lightweight, highest- quality ARwear for people worldwide to be able to see again.”
About Ocutrx
With corporate headquarters in Irvine, Calif., sales offices in norther and southern California; and two research, development and manufacturing labs in the U.S. Midwest, Ocutrx Vision Technologies, LLC is a new breed of Augmented-Extended Reality manufacturing company focusing on the best-connected, lightest-weight, highest-resolution AR headset, housing the largest field-of-vision in the market. The Ocutrx AR headsets boast 60 pixel-per-degree resolution, which is the highest resolution the human eye can see at 20/20. Ocutrx is focused on AR as a medical device for both surgeons and patients alike to deliver an extended reality experience to both. Ocutrx incorporates its AR/XR headsets with a new fully digital OR-Bot Surgery Visualization Theatre for operating rooms. At a time when worldwide applications for easy-to-wear and easy-to-use AR solutions are being touted as the “next big thing after smartphones,” Ocutrx is creating impactful, revolutionary ARWear for the medical sector.
About Karten Design
Karten Design, based in Marina Del Rey, Calif., is a product design and innovation consultancy with over 30 years of experience partnering with medical and consumer companies to build their business through design. K:D leverages its team’s long history in designing consumer products to bring an added focus on people and emotion to the healthcare market. The results are medical devices and digital health solutions that emotionally engage their users. K:D serves on boards and mentors at accelerators within numerous healthcare systems, institutes, and C-suite committees. Karten Design has access to a deep roster of experts in every medical specialty to help it design amazing products that work within workflows and lead to faster adoption. K:D has been widely recognized and awarded for its healthcare designs.