NEW YORK—Topcon Healthcare Solutions announced late last month that it is partnering with IBM Watson Health Imaging in an effort to support a transition plan for their Merge Eye Station digital fundus imaging platform and the Merge Eye Care PACS web-based image management system, two products from their global eyecare division that are being end-of-lifed ("EOL") as announced previously.

As IBM plans to discontinue customer support for Merge Eye Care PACS and Merge Eye Station customers by the end of 2020, Topcon said it will provide a safe transition path for its customers, allowing them to migrate their patient data to Harmony, Topcon’s signature data management system that lets users automatically import images and reports from multiple diagnostic devices into a single web-based viewer. Topcon Harmony will provide seamless data migration from Merge and support all Eye Station users regardless of existing hardware. In addition, Topcon will offer a trade-in support program that gives all existing Merge customers the ability to upgrade to the latest Topcon imaging technology, the company said.

“We are pleased to welcome all Merge customers to Topcon’s software ecosystem. Our team has been working diligently to develop a suite of applications that will allow Merge Eye Care PACS and Eye Station users to seamlessly transition to Topcon Harmony. The Topcon Healthcare Suite is a platform of applications that blend a core set of technologies that will support Merge customers during this transition and provide them with a secure future as their software needs evolve with the ever-changing health care landscape,” stated Akifumi Baba, president of Topcon Healthcare Solutions.

All Merge Eye Care PACS and Eye Station customers are encouraged to schedule an informational meeting using the following landing page: Topconhealth.com/merge.