International premiere: Professor Giovanni Alessio, Director of the Ophthalmology Clinic of Bari – Italy, operated on a patient hospitalized at the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Policlinico of Bari, controlling the procedure remotely from the WKC (World Keratoconus Congress) venue held at the Le Méridien Congress Center in Dubai – UAE. The innovative procedure was made possible thanks to the 4D Suite platform by iVis Technologies and the active 5G connection provided by TIM at the Policlinico of Bari.

Dubai/Bari, April 19, 2024 – The first successful intercontinental tele-surgery intervention for keratoconus was carried out remotely, connecting the iRes®2 laser by iVis Technologies, installed in the operating room of the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Policlinico of Bari and connected via 5G, with the iVis Remote Control Station installed in the Falcon Ballroom of the Le Méridien Congress Center in Dubai, during the World Keratoconus Congress (WKC) in the presence of over 200 international ophthalmic surgeons and experts in the field, gathered to discuss advanced technologies for keratoconus treatment and ectatic diseases.

The operated patient suffered from advanced keratoconus, an evolving condition causing visual impairment uncorrectable with glasses and, if left untreated, may lead to corneal transplantation.

The innovative procedure was made possible by the 4D Suite platform by iVis Technologies, which manages, remotely, the entire cycle of Screening, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Follow-up of corneal pathologies.

In the days preceding the surgery, the patient underwent a series of diagnostic tests. High-resolution images acquired with the iVis Diagnostic Platform allowed determining the stage and extent of the pathology, information used to plan customized treatment to improve vision, halt the progression of the disease, and minimize surgical invasiveness, through Ray-tracing technique, using the Cipta®Web application by iVis Technologies.

From the Falcon Ballroom of the Le Méridien Congress Center in Dubai, Prof. Giovanni Alessio (Full Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Bari and Director of the Ophthalmology Department of the Policlinico of Bari) controlled and guided in real-time, with the iVis Remote Control Station equipped with a 3D viewer, the iRes®2 laser installed at the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Policlinico of Bari. The patient was assisted in the operating room by a dedicated team. The surgery combined corneal reshaping to improve vision and crosslinking to halt the progression of keratoconus.

The intervention was made possible thanks to TIM’s 5G technology, which, in collaboration with Ericsson, installed suitable infrastructure at the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Policlinico of Bari and allowed maintaining adequate transmission latency between the iVis Remote Control Station and the iRes®2 laser, ensuring perfect synchronization between remote commands and action. The 5G connection provided by TIM at the Policlinico of Bari was achieved through the installation of a 5G radio module for indoor coverage by Ericsson, interconnected with TIM’s Core Network through a 10Gbps fiber optic access.

“The surgery performed today, made possible by the technology developed by iVis Technologies, is the latest and most complex of a series of three remotely controlled surgeries carried out to demonstrate that, thanks to remote control, patients will no longer need to undertake long journeys to receive the best possible care. We must continue to invest in the research and development of these innovative technologies, ensuring they are accessible to all who need them,” says Prof. Giovanni Alessio.

“iVis Technologies is a leading company in innovation and research in ophthalmology. At iVis, we believe that technology should be a tool to improve the quality of life of patients but, above all, it should become a means to promote greater equity in the global healthcare system. For this reason, we have developed the SDTF project, to manage in automation, with remote control the entire cycle of Screening, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Follow-Up of corneal pathologies and refractive errors, to ensure performance homogeneity regardless of the delivery site, in order to eliminate patient migration for health needs. A revolution that can significantly improve the quality of life of millions of people worldwide, with considerable resource savings,” explains Eng. Giuseppe D’Ippolito, sole director of iVis Technologies.

“iVis technology introduces a disruptive innovation in the technique of keratoconus treatment. The WKC is open to innovations, scientific progress, and clinical practice. For this reason, we wanted to organize this innovative remotely controlled intervention, followed with great interest by many colleagues. The possibility of remotely managing the stages of a surgical intervention opens up future prospects that were unimaginable until recently,” comment Prof. M. Hosni and Prof. M. Shafik, organizers of the remotely controlled surgery session at the WKC.

“The WKC is a thematic congress organized by the International Keratoconus Society (IKS) that brings together the best international experts to evaluate the most advanced therapies and technologies for the treatment of keratoconus. We are proud to have hosted iVis’s first intercontinental remotely controlled keratoconus surgery that will help many patients worldwide,” concludes Prof. Mazen M. Sinjab, President of the 1st WKC Congress and Secretary-General of the IKS.