CEO of RetiSpec, Imaging Technology for Alzheimer Pathology Identification. Biomedical Engineer.
“Either you’ll be taking care of an Alzheimer’s patient, or you’ll be one.”
They say that the eye is a window to the soul, and since the back of the eye is also a direct extension to the brain, Eliav Shaked believes it can tell us critical information about the state of Alzheimer’s Disease.
CEO of Retispec, Eliav shares the frightening statistic that today one in 10 people (10 percent) age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s dementia, and ~30 years from now, by the time we millennials turn 65 and older, over 50 percent of our peers will have Alzheimer’s. “Either you’ll be taking care of an Alzheimer’s patient, or you’ll be one.”
An estimated 564,000 Canadians are currently living with dementia. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia among the elderly – yet there’s no standard screening system for the disease.
RetiSpec’s mission is to develop a non-invasive way to identify Alzheimer pathologies through eye exams. The technology is harnessing machine-learning techniques designed to connect to standard ophthalmological equipment that is available at most clinics, making it accessible and easily integratable into current practice.
In a quick eye exam, RetiSpec’s imaging technology opens a window of opportunity for timely and specific therapeutic interventions, so that the progression of Alzheimer’s disease may be slowed down or even prevented.
“This is an accessible and affordable way to detect whether you carry the biomarkers for Alzheimer’s.”
Currently, doctors do not have practical tools to confirm Alzheimer’s Disease early enough to matter, before cognitive decline, and if you go to the doctor with a cognitive problem, it may already be too late.
“We’re enabling a way to identify whether or not you carry the pathology so we can provide the tools to neurologists to intervene earlier via lifestyle behaviours and interventions to delay or prevent cognitive decline and dementia, and take control of your health.”
Eliav is determined to change the cultural understanding of Alzheimer’s as an inevitable part of growing old. “Now we say that getting Alzheimer’s is part of normal ageing, but it’s not. I am hoping to impact that paradigm which causes so much pain to so many families worldwide.”
“I hope this inspires others to take care of their family members and understand the importance of preventative mindsets, so that, in the future, we and our children won’t even think of Alzheimer’s as a part of the aging process as we do today.”
RANDOM RAPID FIRE WITH ELIAV
1. Opportunity: take it or make it?
2. Night owl or early bird? Both!
3. Tattoo or Piercing?
4. Early or fashionably late?
5. Last book you read? Hemingway’s Islands in the Stream
Eliav Shaked, an Israeli native, moved to Toronto 3 years ago. With a passion for the brain and healthcare, Eliav worked as a combat medic in the IDF, and completed a biomedical engineering degree at Tel Aviv University. Now CEO of RetiSpec, Eliav, along with his 3 business partners, are developing a non-invasive way to identify Alzheimer pathologies through eye exams.
Learn more about Retispec by visiting their website: www.retispec.com