Commitment underscores a shared agenda to accelerate evidence-based innovation in eye care, with Heidelberg Engineering contributing to CCOI's AMD and Glaucoma workstreams

Heidelberg, Germany, Nov. 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heidelberg Engineering today announced that it is joining the Collaborative Community on Ophthalmic Innovation (CCOI) as part of its parent company EssilorLuxottica's Vision Architect membership – CCOI's highest level of industry participation. The step reflects a long-term commitment to advance patient-centric innovation through multi-stakeholder collaboration, rigorous science, and global consensus-building.

CCOI is a public–private forum that convenes patients, clinicians, researchers, regulators, industry, and payors to speed the development, evaluation, and adoption of ophthalmic medical products. As part of the program, Heidelberg Engineering will participate in CCOI's age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma streams, working with partners to align on clinically meaningful endpoints, interoperable data standards, and pathways that help promising technologies reach patients sooner - without compromising safety or quality.

“Heidelberg Engineering has built its reputation on high-quality, multimodal ophthalmic imaging that is trusted across routine care, clinical studies, and vision-science research,” said Kfir Azoulay, Managing Director of Heidelberg Engineering, who will be appointed to represent the company within the CCOI working groups. “By engaging in CCOI's workstreams in general, and AMD and glaucoma in particular, we aim to contribute our imaging and data expertise to consensus efforts on endpoints, validation frameworks, and real-world deployment so that innovative diagnostics and therapies can be responsibly integrated into care.”

“At EssilorLuxottica, our commitment to science is measured in deeds, not words,” said Dr. Norbert Gorny, Chief Science Officer (CSO) of EssilorLuxottica. “Joining CCOI at the highest level reflects that commitment and our belief in collaborative, evidence-based progress. We will bring representation from across our group to this effort, and we're especially pleased that Heidelberg Engineering will contribute to the AMD and Glaucoma workstreams – bringing decades of strength in imaging and data to help accelerate innovation in eye care.”

“CCOI connects every stakeholder in the innovation ecosystem so that evidence, not geography or silos, defines the path to patient access,” said Malvina Eydelman, MD, Chief Executive Officer of CCOI. “We welcome Heidelberg Engineering's participation via EssilorLuxottica's Vision Architect membership, reflecting a strong dedication to advancing the science, standards, and trust that drive responsible innovation in eye care.”

Advancing a shared agenda

• Alignment on endpoints and study design. Heidelberg Engineering will support CCOI efforts to define and validate patient-centered, clinically meaningful measures – particularly those leveraging structural and functional imaging – to de-risk clinical development for various ocular pathologies.
• Data quality, standards, and interoperability. Building on its experience with multimodal OCT/SLO platforms and longitudinal datasets, Heidelberg Engineering will contribute to standards initiatives that improve data fidelity, reproducibility, and cross-site comparability.
• Ethical, real-world deployment of AI and digital tools. Heidelberg Engineering will engage in CCOI dialogs on AI evaluation, reference standards, and implementation science to ensure AI-enabled workflows improve access, equity, and outcomes.
• Education and awareness. Together with CCOI partners, Heidelberg Engineering will help promote evidence-based best practices and expand awareness of vision science advances across clinical, regulatory, and patient communities.

About Heidelberg Engineering. 

Heidelberg Engineering pioneers imaging and data technologies to optimize ophthalmic solutions that empower eye care professionals who want to improve the holistic health of patients. Since 1990, uncompromising quality and education play a large part in fostering the diagnostic confidence that has become synonymous with the global brand. The SPECTRALIS multi-modal imaging platform for the posterior segment offers unparalleled retinal image quality and reproducibility, supporting the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma, AMD, diabetic retinopathy and many other retinal diseases. The ANTERION multi-disciplinary imaging platform is an easy-to-use, all-in-one anterior segment solution, with all measurements based solely on high-quality OCT technology. The HEYEX 2 image management and device integration platform manages all diagnostic images and supports workflow efficiency with standardized data and interfaces.

About the Collaborative Community on Ophthalmic Innovation (CCOI)

The Collaborative Community on Ophthalmic Innovation (CCOl) is a global catalyst for accelerating the development and adoption of medical products. By uniting all stakeholders— patients, clinicians, researchers, regulators, and industry-CCOl provides a trusted forum to identify challenges, align strategies, and implement solutions that drive clinical innovation. Its mission is to remove barriers between breakthrough innovations and the patients who need them, unlocking the eye's potential to advance both ophthalmology and broader healthcare.

Contact:
Josefine van't Hof
Heidelberg Engineering GmbH
+49 1627239532
josefine.vanthof@heidelbergengineering.com