SINGAPORE EYE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
of forum, which lets them get feedback on how their product can go forward commercially,” Jod says. This collaborative philosophy can also be seen in SERI’ s long-standing partnership with the Ziemer Group.“ SERI’ s translational research association with the Ziemer Group started around 14 years ago,” says Jod.“ In that time, the partnership has really developed from us being a user of their laser technology to then helping to develop software with them through research.“ It’ s unbelievable to see what we can now do with the same laser system – and working in collaboration with Ziemer, the researchers and clinicians from SERI have really allowed us to implement a lot of new things. We are using the laser now for a lot of our work in cornea and refractive surgery.” He attributes the success of the collaboration between Ziemer and SERI to an alignment of values, such as a shared focus on innovation and a belief in the underlying technology.“ If you don’ t believe in the technology yourself, it’ s very difficult to work with a company. The uniqueness of that laser system has allowed us to truly innovate within the field of cornea and refractive surgery.”
Proactive disease prevention As significant developments and innovations such as these transform the field of healthcare, Jod is turning his focus to how SERI can make the shift
from reactive treatment to the proactive prevention of disease – particularly in an aging society such as Singapore’ s.“ In the last 10 to 15 years, there’ s been such a shift in outcomes, and things are going to get even better,” Jod says.“ I see new things that are coming into pipelines, and I see how that can be instigated into medical practice.” Helping patients maintain vision is critical for improving overall quality of life, with Jod saying that the institute is focusing on“ healthspan”.“ The population in Singapore is the second highest in the world with respect to aging,” Jod explains.“ So there’ s a lot more focus on healthspan – and maintaining healthy vision has a direct
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