Eye care professionals from almost every country and territory across the globe—including nearly 15% of the world’s ophthalmologists—have trained on the platform

NEW YORK, July 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Cybersight, the telemedicine and e-learning platform created by eye care nonprofit Orbis International, has reached 100,000 registered users. Orbis is marking this milestone by announcing a $1 million endowment for Cybersight and naming the Cybersight library after Orbis Volunteer Faculty member Dr. Eugene Helveston, the platform’s founder. The $1 million donation is from an anonymous ophthalmologist.

Cybersight, which marked its 20^th anniversary last year, began to see a surge in its userbase at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, Cybersight had around 20,400 users, and now, just over four years later, has almost five times as many. When the pandemic limited in-person learning options and many organizations worked quickly to pivot their efforts online, Orbis already had the technology at the ready to enable remote training at scale. The continued rapid growth following the pandemic indicates the strong need for virtual learning and mentorship in eye care around the world.

Cybersight provides training, mentoring, and online courses to eye care professionals—including ophthalmologists, optometrists, anesthesiologists, residents, nurses, and others—around the world. Cybersight has trained eye care professionals in nearly every country and territory across the globe. About 15% of ophthalmologists in the world are registered users.

“Cybersight is a vital resource for the eye care community around the globe, and we are so proud of its growth and extensive reach,” says Dr. Hunter Cherwek, Vice President of Clinical Services and Technologies at Orbis International. “The support from this endowment will help us keep expanding access and content so more eye care professionals from all over the world can benefit.”

Broadening access to ophthalmic training is essential in a world where 90% of all vision loss—representing around 1 billion people—is completely avoidable. Lack of access to training in low- and middle-income countries, home to nine out of ten people with vision loss, means that a virtual training platform like Cybersight can have tremendous impact, providing users with learning resources they cannot access elsewhere. Cost is never a barrier as Orbis offers all of its resources and tools for free.

Dr. Helveston created the world’s first internet-based ophthalmic telemedicine program in 1998, using email—then a relatively new communication method—to receive questions from colleagues around the world and quickly reply with advice. This training program gained strength as internet connectivity spread and technology advanced, and in 2003, Orbis launched Cybersight to streamline and update the platform that Dr. Helveston created.

“Cybersight has continued to grow because a new Orbis project was gradually improved over two decades by dedicated staff and volunteers,” said Dr. Gene Helveston, the founder of Cybersight. “In the beginning, around 1998, there were only a few of us involved with Cybersight, and we had no idea that this small project would reach the heights it has achieved. Now, thanks to many, Cybersight is growing the platform to serve better and reach more, and that’s why we take satisfaction in the numbers achieved.”

The Cybersight library is a free, open-access repository of ophthalmic and other medical knowledge, with resources in nine languages. The library holds more than 1,000 surgical videos, quizzes, textbooks and manuals, and simulation training resources. With the endowment, this resource will now be known as The Eugene Helveston Cybersight e-Library.

In addition to library content, Cybersight offers online courses, 50% in a language other than English. Another of its main functions is putting eye care professionals in touch with expert volunteers who provide on-demand advice for complex cases, a service that has helped more than 30,000 patients globally. The platform also broadcasts live lectures and surgeries on board the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital to partner hospitals and classrooms around the world.

A recent addition to Cybersight is an artificial intelligence tool, called Cybersight AI, that can detect signs of common eye diseases in seconds by examining digital photographs of the back of the eye. This game-changing tool increases early detection of treatable conditions like diabetic retinopathy, helping more patients avoid vision loss.

About Orbis

Orbis is an international nonprofit delivering sight-saving programs in over 200 countries and territories worldwide so that individuals, families, and communities can thrive. Currently, around 1 billion people across the globe live with completely avoidable blindness and vision loss. For over four decades, Orbis has been tackling this challenge by building strong and sustainable eye care systems that leave a lasting legacy of vision. Orbis runs dedicated in-country programs in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America; develops and implements innovative training and technology, including an award-winning telemedicine and e-learning platform, Cybersight; and operates the world’s first and only Flying Eye Hospital, a fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft. For the past 11 consecutive years, Orbis has achieved Charity Navigator‘s coveted four-star rating for demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency, placing Orbis in the top 3% of U.S. charities. For the past three years, Orbis has earned GuideStar‘s platinum Seal of Transparency. In 2022, Orbis earned “accredited charity” status from the Better Business Bureau by meeting all 20 of their standards for charity accountability. To learn more, please visit orbis.org.

Media Contact
Jenna Montgomery
jenna.montgomery@orbis.org

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SOURCE Orbis International