BROSSARD, QUEBEC, CANADA--(Marketwire - June 28, 2011) - DIAGNOS inc. ("DIAGNOS" or "the Corporation") (TSX VENTURE:ADK), a leader in the use of artificial intelligence and advanced knowledge extraction techniques, announces today a service agreement with Ophtabus (L'Association Française pour le Dépistage et la Prévention des maladies de la Vision), a French organization engaged in screening for eye diseases.
Founded in 2004, Ophtabus is a French organization whose goal is to increase accessibility of ophthalmic care. Ophtabus presently operates a fleet of seven mobile screening units that travel all of France conducting screening events for retinal diseases. Ophtabus works in collaboration with a wide range of private and public organizations, nationally and internationally including healthcare organizations, insurance companies and financial institutions.
In France, due to the shortage of ophthalmologists and prevalence of diabetes, it is estimated that only about 43% of the estimated 2 million diagnosed and undiagnosed sufferers have access to regular monitoring of their vision. Furthermore, as many as 23% of French diabetics have some form of retinopathy, and it has been reported by the "Haute Autorité Sanitaire de la France" (Independent public organisation) that nearly 30% of French diabetics suffer from complications including heart disease, diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, forms of neuropathy. Diabetes is one of the main reasons for amputation and diabetic retinopathy is one of the major causes of blindness in France. In addition, 70% of people with age related macular degeneration were diagnosed too late due to lack of access to appropriate care. "The CARA application will enable and allow us to rapidly develop widespread screening for diseases of the retina throughout France." said Sonia Kubryk, president of the association Ophtabus.
"To kick-off our partnership with Ophtabus and to inaugurate our CARA platform in France, CARA will be used by Ophtabus at screening events during the 2011 Tour de France. Screening events will be conducted at each stage and stop of The Tour and testing will be offered to local, national, and international populations. We look forward to working closely with Ophtabus and to enabling them to better serve the ophthalmic screening needs of the French population in an expanded screening program starting in September 2011." said Yvan Michon, DIAGNOS' Director of Business Development.
About CARA
CARA is a tele-ophthalmology platform that integrates with existing equipment (hardware and software) and processes at the point of care (POC) and comprises: image upload, image enhancement automated pre-screening, grading by a specialist, and referral to a specialist. CARA's image enhancement algorithms make standard retinal images sharper, clearer, and easier to read. CARA is accessible securely over the internet, and is compatible with all recognized image formats and brands of fundus cameras. CARA is a cost-effective tool for processing large numbers of images, in real-time and has been issued a licence by Health Canada for commercialization in Canada.
About DIAGNOS
Founded in 1998, DIAGNOS is a publicly traded Canadian corporation (TSX VENTURE:ADK), with a mission to commercialize technologies combining contextual imaging and traditional data mining thereby improving decision making processes. DIAGNOS offers products, services, and solutions to clients in a variety of fields including healthcare, natural resources, and entertainment.
For further information, please visit our website at www.diagnos.com or the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.
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Contact Information:
President and Chief Executive Officer
1-877-678-8882 or (450) 678-8882, ext. 224
alarente@diagnos.com