PLANO®; AN INNOVATIVE PARENTAL MANAGEMENT APP FOR HEALTHLY AND SAFE SMART DEVICE USE AMONG CHILDREN

plano® is the first
spin-off from the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI)-Singapore National
Eye Centre (SNEC) Ophthalmic Technologies Incubator Programme

12 September 2017, Singapore – The miniaturisation and proliferation of
technology, coupled with the convenience of mobile applications and
“on-the-go” information, has led to a higher dependency on smart
devices. Increased smart device use means that more time is spent sitting, and
less time is spent engaging in physical and outdoor activities. This could
lead, even in the short term, to habits that are detrimental to general and eye
health. Excessive device use can result in ocular symptoms, and increase risk
factors associated with myopia, such as (i) time spent on near work, (ii)
distance of device held from one’s eyes[1] , (iii) childhood obesity, and (iv) the
formation of bad body posture[2].

To better manage this phenomenon, plano® was
created to revolutionize the way smart devices (phones and tablets) are
used.  plano® was
created to minimize the
potential adverse outcomes that may result from the inappropriate device useand incorporates an innovative screening tool for
myopia, which can assist in early detection for decreased vision in children
and provide users (parents and children) with easy to read reports to assist in
improving device use behaviour.  plano®’s analysis of big data can be used for early
detection and prevention strategies, resource allocation and refining
intervention measures to ultimately improve paediatric eye health in Singapore
and beyond.

Fresh out of the SERI-SNEC Ophthalmic
Technologies Incubator programme and
co-funded by the National Health Innovation Centre Singapore, plano® is
a parental management app and myopia screening tool which encourages healthy
and safe smart device use in children.

Primarily targeted at parents, plano® can
be used to keep track of a child’s smart devices use and usage habits. Parents
can monitor the frequency and duration of time spent on the devices, the apps
their children are using, and the distance at which they hold the device. plano® also
captures important eye related data, such as utilization of optometry care and
onset of myopia, and recommends eye tests using a validated framework for eye
testing frequency in children. Parents can choose to receive weekly reports on
their children’s device use, and can also subscribe for recommendations for
better management.

plano® founder and CEO, Dr Mo
Dirani shared, “We have seen the age of the users decrease as we become more
dependent on these devices in our everyday lives.  This does not need to
be a problem, but it is a trend we must be mindful of. plano® is
a ‘smart solution’ to better manage device usage behaviour. We believe many
populations around the world will find this app useful, especially in a country
like Singapore, which has both high myopia levels and high levels of smart
device use amongst children.”

Launched first in Singapore, the plano® app
can be downloaded for free on the iTunes App Store and on the Google Play
Store. While plano® is currently available in English, there
are plans to launch the app in Asia in local languages within the next two
years.

Please refer to Annex A for the key features
of the plano®app and Annex B for Dr. Mo Dirani’s profile.

First project to be unveiled by the SERI-SNEC
Ophthalmic Technologies Incubator Programme

The SERI-SNEC Ophthalmic Technologies
Incubator programme was first introduced in 2013. The programme is dedicated to
supporting and nurturing highly promising ophthalmic R&D projects,
accelerating them towards commercialisation and medical deployment via creating
start-up companies, such as plano®. Members of the SERI technology development and
commercialization team worked closely with the plano® project
team, providing support in areas including regulatory, Intellectual Property
(IP), market research, business planning and financial modelling and
more.
On this basis, the project attracted additional translational funding from the
National Health Innovation Centre Singapore to expand the scope of the
development that could be undertaken.

The development of the plano® app
is the third project that was supported by this programme, and its first
successful spin-off.

Executive Director of SERI, Professor Aung Tin
said, “plano®is an exciting spin-off company and is
testament to the benefits of collaborative R&D that we hope will ultimately
lead to better eye health for Singapore and beyond. This – along with our hopes
to enable entrepreneurs and create a more vibrant, competitive medical research
and technology ecosystem – are the key reasons why the Ophthalmic Technologies
Incubator was set up.  We hope such collaborations will firmly place
Singapore on the map of entrepreneurial medical technology development.”

Through the Ophthalmic Technologies Incubator,
SERI and SNEC are supporting researchers and entrepreneurs in their journey to
develop diverse medical technologies, including therapeutics, devices, diagnostics
and software. As global leaders in clinical practice and eye research, both
SNEC and SERI strongly support the efficient and robust development of
promising technologies towards commercialization via a string of start-up
companies. Such initiatives will help position Singapore as a centre for
entrepreneurial medical technology development and ultimately contribute to
enhanced treatments for patients in the country and globally.

The operation of the Incubator is one of the
main activities of the SERI technology development and commercialization
(TD&C) team. It does however have a much wider role as a one-stop support
resource for all SERI and SNEC staff involved in development of technologies
which hold potential commercial promise. The TD&C team is focused in their
goal to drive the development of budding technologies, support the commercial
development of current research collaborations with industry and actively
promote such collaborations with new partners.

To date, SERI and SNEC have filed over 122
patent applications, concluded over 20 licenses with industry, forged numerous
early and late stage collaborations with industrial partners (including a
recent $37M co-development collaboration with Santen Pharmaceutical of Japan)
and spun off three companies, of which plano® is the latest.

For more information on plano®, please contact Dr. Mo Dirani at mo.dirani@plano.co or
visit http://plano.co.

For more information on the SERI-SNEC
Ophthalmic Technologies Incubator and the institutes’ industrial
collaborations, please contact fang.xiaoqin@seri.com.sg or
visit www.seri.com.sg.

Founded in 2017, plano® is committed to ensuring healthy
and safe device use in children worldwide. Through a mix of innovative parental
management tools, plano® has the potential to make major
contributions to paediatric health and well-being and ultimately become a
leader in smart digital solutions.

plano® is a privately held company
headquartered in Singapore. For more information, visit http://plano.co.

Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) was
incorporated in 1989 and commenced operations in 1990. It is the designated
national centre within the public-sector healthcare network, and spearheads and
coordinates the provision of specialised ophthalmological services with
emphasis on quality education and research. Since its opening in 1990, SNEC has
achieved rapid growth and currently manages an annual workload of 300,000
outpatient visits, 35,000 major eye surgeries and laser procedures.

Subspecialties in Cataract, Corneal and External Eye Disease,
General Cataract and Comprehensive Ophthalmology,  Glaucoma,Neuro-Ophthalmology, Oculoplastic, Paediatric Ophthalmology and
Strabismus, Refractive Surgery, Ocular Inflammation and Immunology,
Medical Retina and Surgical Retina have been established to provide a full
range of eye treatment from comprehensive to tertiary levels for the entire
spectrum of eye conditions.

For more information about SNEC, visithttps://www.snec.com.sg.

Established in 1997, SERI is Singapore’s
national research institute for ophthalmic and vision research. SERI’s mission
is to conduct high impact eye research with the aim to prevent blindness, low
vision and major eye diseases common to Singaporeans and Asians. SERI has grown
from a founding team of five in 1997 to a faculty of 226, encompassing
clinician scientists, scientists, research fellows, PhD students and support
staff. This makes SERI one of the largest research institutes in Singapore and
the largest eye research institute in Asia-Pacific. In addition, SERI has over
100 adjunct faculties from various eye departments, biomedical institutes and
tertiary centres in Singapore. SERI has amassed an impressive array of more
than 2880 publications, scientific papers as of May 2017, and has secured more
than $265 million in external peer-reviewed competitive grants. To date (as of
May 2017), SERI’s faculty has been awarded more than 419 national and
international prizes and filed more than 122 patents. Serving as the research
institute of the Singapore National Eye Centre and affiliated to the Duke-NUS
Graduate Medical School, SERI undertakes vision research in collaboration with
local clinical ophthalmic centres and biomedical research institutions, as well
as major eye centres and research institutes throughout the world.

For more information about SERI, visithttp://www.seri.com.sg.

The National Health
Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC) was established in 2014 to accelerate the
translation of healthcare innovations arising from the publicly-funded clinical
research sector in Singapore. Through its project funding and strategic guidance,
NHIC supports the development of innovative technologies towards commercially
attractive products.

For
more information about NHIC, visit: www.nhic.sg.

 [1] P. Vate-U-Lan, “Text neck epidemic: a growing problem for smart phone users in Thailand,” The Twelfth International Conference on eLearning for Knowledge-Based Society, 2015.