Heru

Heru, Inc. is a Miami-based medical technology company that develops AI-powered vision diagnostics and vision augmentation software designed to run on commercially available AR/VR headsets, including Microsoft and Magic Leap devices. Its diagnostics software can autonomously assess vision defects, and the company has also been developing vision augmentation software intended to correct a user's vision defects in real time using AI. The diagnostics software is registered with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration as a Class I exempt device.

The company's commercial products include Heru Prime, Heru Visual Field (VF) Edition, and EyeStream technology, which provides real-time technician feedback and fit-check functions intended to improve repeatability and reduce retests during visual field pretesting. Heru's first commercial product, a wearable diagnostics and visual field application called re:Vive, launched with Vision Source, a North American network of independent private-practice optometrists spanning over 3,600 practices and 4,500 doctors. Heru positions its wearable, portable approach as not requiring a dedicated dark room or large capital equipment, allowing clinical data to be collected at any point during a patient visit, including in remote settings and tele-optometry workflows.

Heru's technology is grounded in more than ten years of clinical and scientific research at the University of Miami's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, where it was developed and clinically validated within the institute's accelerator program and licensed exclusively to Heru. The company cites peer-reviewed clinical work comparing visual field test measurements on a wearable headset with standard automated perimetry.

Founding story

Heru was founded in 2018 as a spinout from the University of Miami's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Founder and CEO Mohamed Abou Shousha, MD, PhD, a practicing ophthalmologist and associate professor of clinical ophthalmology, electrical and computer engineering, and biomedical engineering at Bascom Palmer, worked with a team of clinicians, scientists, and engineers for more than ten years on ophthalmic imaging and AI algorithms that became the basis of Heru's wearable device. The stated motivation was to widen access to vision care through improved usability, portability, and lower cost, informed by gaps observed at a hospital seeing roughly 300,000 patients a year.

Business model

Heru sells headset-based diagnostic software and hardware bundles to eye care practices, including independent optometrists and multi-location practices, supported by demos, customer service and support functions.

Products such as Heru Prime and Heru Visual Field Edition are marketed to eye care providers, who acquire headsets and accompanying software for in-practice testing.

Traction

Heru reports over 1.7 million eyes tested across all 50 U.S. states, a portfolio of more than 50 patents, and a worldwide product launch with Vision Source. The company is a multi-year CES Innovation Awards honoree in the Virtual and Augmented Reality category.

Latest developments

Heru markets Heru Prime and Heru Visual Field Edition with next-generation EyeStream technology for standardized pretesting, advanced fit check, and real-time technician feedback, and promotes use of the platform in tele-optometry workflows.