VSP Imaginative and prescient and MATTER Launch First Innovation Problem

(PRESS RELEASE) RANCHO CORDOVA, CA – VSP Imaginative and prescient, the chief in delivering entry to health-focused imaginative and prescient care, and MATTER, the premier healthcare incubator and innovation hub, announce the launch of the primary VSP Imaginative and prescient Innovation Problem, a worldwide competitors that seeks to discover options to boost the affected person expertise in eye care. As much as 5 startups will probably be chosen to advance their options with key business stakeholders and pitch their improvements for the possibility to win as much as $10,000.

The competitors is co-hosted by MATTER and the VSP Imaginative and prescient World Innovation Middle (GIC), the hub the place VSP Imaginative and prescient explores new methods eye care and eyewear are delivered to the world by way of rising applied sciences, new enterprise exploration, and strategic connections throughout the innovation ecosystem.
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Whereas 8 in 10 folks (84 p.c) fee imaginative and prescient as a very powerful sense — and almost everybody (97 p.c) agrees that having wholesome eyes is necessary — solely half schedule an annual eye examination. Persistent imaginative and prescient situations are additionally on the rise. In 2022, greater than eight millionIndividuals reported a imaginative and prescient incapacity, a 28 p.c enhance since 2010. And consultants anticipate that widespread eye ailments, like glaucoma, will probably be twice as excessive in 2050 in comparison with 2010.

Because the inevitable want for imaginative and prescient care accelerates, so too does the demand from sufferers for improved expertise, interactions, and experiences with the healthcare system. In reality, analysis from the VSP World Innovation Middle pinpoints the precise methods client and sufferers expect firms and suppliers to uplevel their choices because it pertains to well being and wellness.

“The attention is a window into total well being and wellness, offering sufferers with knowledge factors past a prescription,” mentioned Ruth Yomtoubian, Senior Director of the VSP Imaginative and prescient World Innovation Middle. “Our position is to encourage innovators to direct their skills and applied sciences in direction of imaginative and prescient care, a vital touchpoint within the healthcare continuum. That’s why we’re looking for options that may enhance entry to care, allow sufferers to proactively handle their eye well being, and support optometrists in offering elevated affected person experiences.”
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Towards this aim, VSP Imaginative and prescient and MATTER are calling on innovators to submit their options that deal with a number of tracks for enhancing sufferers’ eye care expertise: Empowering Sufferers, Scaling Entry or Elevating Care. As much as 5 finalists will probably be chosen from the candidate pool to obtain knowledgeable mentorship and unique sources to construct their options and refine their worth propositions, in addition to pitch their options at a remaining showcase in August 2024 for the possibility to win as much as $10,000.

“The mixing of latest applied sciences may help additional enhance the standard of imaginative and prescient care which will probably be particularly wanted because the inhabitants of sufferers who want care grows,” mentioned Steven Collens, CEO of MATTER. “We’ve partnered with VSP Imaginative and prescient to speed up the event of the main startups who may help the attention care business additional empower sufferers, help suppliers and improve accessibility.”