Our History
Building Retinar has been a journey full of wonderful milestones, through which we demonstrate the importance of interdisciplinarity and joint work between the State as a demander and guide of public health needs, the scientific and technological system as the developer of the required solutions, and the private sector as a catalyst for the economic sustainability of these initiatives.
2013-2019
Initial Research
We began the first research projects at the PLADEMA Institute of UNICEN, exploring the potential of AI for analyzing retinal images, focusing on diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. We developed the first methods to extract and characterize blood vessels, locate lesions, and automatically detect glaucoma, which we published in international journals and conferences.
2020
Oriented Scientific Development
Together with the Ophthalmology Service of Hospital El Cruce, we designed the Retinar proposal and began working under the auspices of CONICET, UNICEN, and the R&D&I Agency on algorithms for diabetic retinopathy recognition and quality control automation. We also participated in the Prendete Innovative Business Ideas Contest, receiving the award for the project most voted by the public.
2021
Platform Design and Clinical Validation
With funding from the Ministry of Productive Development, we interviewed users and designed the first navigable prototype of the platform. In parallel, we conducted a large-scale retrospective clinical study, which earned us the award from the National Academy of Medicine of Buenos Aires and the award for the best oral presentation at the Argentine Congress of Ophthalmology.
2022
Development of the First MVP
We implemented a first version of the platform, which we tested in controlled environments to refine and correct. We connected our AI algorithm for diabetic retinopathy recognition and began researching two new models: one for optic nerve characterization and glaucoma detection, and another for assisting in improving image quality.
2023
Scaling the Solution
After winning the Transformar Salud program from Fundación Garrahan and Roche Laboratories, we were able to implement the final version of our platform, ready for evaluation in real-world settings. We also presented Retinar to numerous public and private health institutions and at events relevant to public health, entrepreneurship, and the general public.
2024
First Tests in Real Environments
We began our first tests with retinographs installed in health centers, starting with Hospital El Cruce. We improved our development to enhance patient communication and established a work team with a support network and external collaborators that further facilitated our progress and growth. Additionally, we won the Transformative AI Award, voted as the most innovative AI project in the country.
2025
Retinar is Officially a Startup!
We officially established ourselves as a technology-based company, initiated the procedures for homologation as a UNICEN spin-off, and began working towards certification with regulatory bodies in Argentina. We also set up our first image capture node, networked with institutions for image reading and treatment of observed cases.
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