The details of the partnership aren't entirely clear at this point, but Nikon will apparently use its expertise in "optical engineering and precision manufacturing, its proprietary ultra-widefield technology and strong commercial presence among eyecare specialists." Verily, on the other hand, is in charge of the machine learning technology side of things. Verily has been pretty busy since it became a separate company a year ago. In addition to its diabetes-related projects, it launched its own robot surgery spinoff and created a sensor-laden health-tracking watch. It also developed a wearable microscope that can see inside a person's skin, so doctors can detect cancers and monitor drug delivery in a patient's body.
Verily, formerly Google Life Sciences, has partnered with Nikon to improve screening for two diabetes-related eye diseases that are leading causes of blindness in adults. The company said the partnership will help it develop a new blood test and treatment regimen for diabetic retinopathy called “D2R.” In addition to eye care projects, Verily has also developed a robot surgery spinoff, a health-tracking watch and a wearable microscope capable of detecting cancers and monitoring drug delivery inside the body.