Renewed collaboration expands access to training and tech for eye care professionals in underserved communities.
Orbis International, (NY, United States) and Heidelberg Engineering (Heidelberg, Germany) have announced the renewal of their partnership to fight avoidable blindness across underserved communities worldwide.
After a successful collaboration in 2024, the two organizations are once again joining forces to deliver cutting-edge training and eye care technology where it’s needed most.
This renewed partnership will continue to focus on empowering eye care professionals through access to world-class education and digital resources—most notably through Orbis’ telemedicine and e-learning hub dubbed Cybersight platform.
“We are honored to support our partner’s enduring commitment to eliminating avoidable blindness by expanding access to training and technology in eye care for all, regardless of location,” said Kfir Azoulay, managing director at Heidelberg Engineering.
READ MORE: Preventing and Treating Avoidable Blindness with Orbis Singapore
Vision loss is a global crisis—especially in underserved regions
Today, 90% of the 1.1 billion people living with vision loss are based in low- and middle-income countries. Barriers to education, diagnostic tools and up-to-date training continue to widen the gap between those with access to care and those without.
Through their joint efforts, Orbis and Heidelberg Engineering aim to close that gap—reaching eye care teams even in conflict-affected areas like Afghanistan, Somalia and Ukraine.
READ MORE: Roche Survey Highlights Asia Pacific’s Silent Struggle with Eye Care
Empowering ECPs through training
In 2024, four live webinars were delivered via Cybersight, reaching thousands of eye care professionals across the globe, including professionals in conflict-affected areas like Afghanistan, Somalia and Ukraine, where access to education and mentorship is often limited.
This momentum continues in 2025, with a brand-new series of supported sessions designed to empower eye care teams and elevate the quality of care in their communities. The focus? Optical coherence tomography (OCT)—a powerful tool that can transform the diagnosis, management and treatment of various ophthalmic conditions.
READ MORE: Orbis Symposium Addresses the Challenge of Equalizing Training Opportunities
This year, four virtual training sessions are planned, starting with The Novel Diagnostic Tools for Optic Neuropathies and Glaucoma scheduled June 9, 2025, 1:00 PM UTC. If you are interested, sign up here.
Details for the next sessions will be shared soon on the Cybersight website.
Sight-saving research support
Beyond training, Heidelberg Engineering’s strategic support helped Orbis complete an important study on retinoblastoma1, a rare childhood eye cancer that affects 9,000 children annually.
Key findings, published in JCO Global Oncology, include:
- Mentorship via Orbis Cybersight improved disease-specific knowledge and management of retinoblastoma over a 20-year period.
- Tele-education provides an opportunity for disease-specific capacity building in low- and middle-income countries for the treatment of retinoblastoma.
These insights are a direct result of collaborative innovation and a shared commitment to advancing care.
Together, Orbis and Heidelberg Engineering are not just delivering knowledge and technology—they are building a future where no child loses their sight to a lack of access, no matter where they live.
With a shared vision of eliminating avoidable blindness, this partnership stands as a powerful example of how collaboration can transform lives, empower eye care teams, and bring lasting change to the communities that need it most.
Editor’s note: Find more information on Heidelberg Engineering’s press release.
Reference
- Huemmer SE, Patnaik JL, Ybarra S, Congdon N, Cherwek DH, Wilson MW. Teleophthalmology Through Online Mentorship Over a 20-Year Period: Education and Capacity Building. JCO Glob Oncol. 2024;10:e2400297.