From desk drawer to doc offices: Columbus eye surgeon’s EpiGlare invention lands licensing deal

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Courtesy OhioHealth

An Arizona supplier has licensed the rights to EpiGlare's manufacturing, marketing and distributing.

Carrie Ghose

Staff reporter- Columbus Business First

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Eye surgeon Dr. Alice Epitropoulos patented a device to accurately measure vision deficits caused by headlights and other glare 10 years ago – but stowed the IP in a desk drawer.

Six years ago, she dusted it off, and with advice from OhioHealth Corp. won a $50,000 TechColumbus grant toward getting the device to market.

Soon her invention, EpiGlare, will be on sale to eye surgery practices nationwide. Tucson, Arizona-based supplier Eye Care and Cure has licensed the rights to manufacturing, marketing and distributing it, OhioHealth announced Wednesday.

Epitropoulos is an independent ophthalmologist, practicing at the physician-owned Eye Center of Columbus in the Arena District. Starting in 2008 the commercialization program at OhioHealth's research institute provided advice and introductions, to help her apply for TechColumbus funding, find other investors and partners, and complete market research.

Patients with cataracts and other eye conditions often complain of lost vision from glare, Epitropoulos says, but there is no other accepted method to measure the extent of the disability – creating a public safety issue if there's no standard to advise patients not to drive at night.

OhioHealth and TechColumbus have worked on 260 similar commercialization projects over the past seven years, the Columbus hospital system said, and nine of those now are in clinical use.

Carrie Ghose covers health care, startups and technology for Columbus Business First.