The two are using high-fidelity structural simulations and digital twin technology to develop patient-specific surgery plans.

By integrating Ansys Mechanical with Optimo Medical AG’s Optimeyes digital twin technology, ophthalmologists are creating identical digital copies of patient corneas to test surgical strategies for individual patients that substantially improve results.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology estimated in 2015 that as many as one in three people might have astigmatisms in their eyes. A phoropter, autorefractor or corneal topography is used to detect astigmatism, “an irregularly shaped cornea or lens that prevents light from focusing properly on the retina, the light-sensitive surface at the back of the eye.” The 2011 article Application of Advanced Statistics in Ophthalmology explored how ophthalmologists use statistical models and data to treat astigmatisms, and the role of statistics in ophthalmology research. The article also discussed the limitations of statistical research and the challenges that come with optical measurements of paired eyes. Current practices while a surgeon is performing cataract surgery requires some “educated guessing,” a phrase sure to make any prospective patients cringe. Surgeons can correct astigmatism during the surgery using arcuate keratotomy techniques, but use statistical nomograms to estimate how the eye will react. A bad estimate can cause astigmatism to remain in the eye without correction, and a cataract patient might still need glasses to see after surgery.
Optimo Medical AG bills itself as a “Swiss medical technology and IT-cloud company” with an interdisciplinary team specializing in ocular biomechanics, simulation, software development, ophthalmology, physics, mathematics and optics. The group believes that their passion for eye care and the endless utility of digital imaging helps them do great things through the creation of digital twins for eyes before surgeries. The Optimeyes software is its flagship product, a method of using a patient’s digital twin to find the best surgical incision locations for each individualized patient. The four-step process starts with importing the patient’s measurements before adjusting the surgery parameters to the specific patient. The simulation will then find the optimal conditions for the incisions, and the surgeon can print a report and use it as a guide while performing the surgery. Optimeyes will work with Pentacam (HR), Galilei G2 / G4 / G6, CSO Sirius and CSO MS39 measuring devices. Back in April 2018, Optimo received the CE Mark for its European distribution approval. In September 2020, the Food and Drug Administration decided not to apply any “regulatory requirements” to the software, signaling that the tool can now be used in the U.S. market.

On Feb. 23, 2021, Optimo and Ansys announced their partnership working on the Optimeyes software, using the tools that Optimo already had in place and the power of Ansys as a billion-dollar company with matching infrastructure. Both sides talked about the benefits of the partnership and how it can make eye care around the world a little better. Harald Studer, Optimo Medical AG CEO, said that “together with Ansys, we are paving the way toward large-scale adoption of engineering simulation within the eye care industry and swiftly treating astigmatism for millions of patients worldwide.” Prith Banerjee from Ansys echoed the benefits of the partnership, noting that Ansys Mechanical was helping to develop Optimeyes as a next-gen solution and hoped that this could allow patients to raise their quality of life.
Optimo is also using the power of Ansys Mechanical in its other applications. Virtual clinical trials can be run using the software to help customers gain more insight into corneal behavior. Previous studies have included parameter sensitivity analysis, contact lens placement on the cornea, impact of patient-interface shape on laser incisions and the effect of corneal inlay implantation depth on biomechanics and corneal topography. Other unique consulting projects have included work on visualizing corneal topography and the creation of a “corneal topography toolbox” for understanding the differences between each individual patients’ eyes.
Six publications are highlighted on the company’s Knowledge Base page, and some of these greatest hits seem tailor-made for using Ansys as a booster. Patient-specific finite-element simulation of the human cornea: A clinical validation study on cataract surgery was published in the Journal of Biomechanics in 2013 and discusses the corneal topography of 13 patients before the surgery, one day after the surgery and 30 days after the surgery. Gaussian process prediction of the stress-free configuration of pre-deformed soft tissues: Application to the human cornea was published in the April 2016 issue of Medical Engineering and Physics, using more than 1,000 datasets to try and prove that Gaussian regression could find a stress-free configuration for surgeons instantaneously and be up to five times more accurate than clinical requirements.
Optimo believes that the power of predictive modeling and simulations is valuable for eye care but has the potential for more medical applications. Its website outlines projects in the works with Avicenna Alliance, a Eurostars project with Rowiak GmbH, the Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH) and the Inselspital Bern to crosslink dual photon technology, and a Horizon 2020 project called Imcustomeye that aims to customize eye health treatments to the individual patient.

Ansys remains a worldwide leader in finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, electronics and design optimization. The company is more than 50 years old and employs over 4,400 technical professionals. A strong commitment to academics helps create many new users of the software over time. One thing I often told my students in an Introduction to Quality course is that if a company gets large enough, there is usually a published quality policy on its website. Ansys holds true to form with a healthy explanation of its quality assurance program. If a younger company wants to use Ansys as a development tool, it can join the Ansys Startup Program and gain access to structural and fluids, electromagnetics, embedded software bundles, marketing opportunities and tech support. Startup companies must be less than 10 years old, have less than $5 million annual revenue and be privately held companies.
Building this huge digital twin application around Ansys Mechanical feels like a great proposition for both Ansys and Optimo Medical. As Optimeyes constructs itself around the Mechanical platform with that built-in computing power, it also gets to leverage the knowledge and expertise of Ansys experts. As a user and partner, they will have a voice going forward in possible changes or updates made to the software. Ansys gets to be a part of an incredible and innovative tool, notching up just one more end-user example for its trophy case and contributing to one more mechanism that will help make the world a better and healthier place. Although several of the applications shown on the Optimo website look like Ansys might be a base for the simulations involved, Opimeyes is the one place where the solution is a labeled integration between the two software. This partnership can also be seen as a young innovative company working with a huge established monolith of the simulation community.