Ukrainian medical startup CheckEye, which develops an artificial intelligence system for early detection of chronic diseases from retinal images, received an award of $175 thousand at the international competition Healthy Longevity Global Competition, organized by the National Academy of Medicine of the USA (National Academy of Medicine, NAM). The company took second place in the final stage of the competition, NAM reported.
The award ceremony took place in Washington during the international summit NAM Global Innovator Summit. The Ukrainian team was represented by CheckEye co-founder Viktoriia Chuchina, noted by the organizers as the project leader.
The development of the Ukrainian company named AI-Powered Retinal Screening for Early Detection of Chronic Diseases involves the use of artificial intelligence to analyze retinal images and detect signs of chronic diseases.
The technology allows for examinations without complex invasive procedures. According to the company, obtaining a retinal image takes about three minutes, after which the image is analyzed by a cloud platform based on artificial intelligence algorithms.
Examinations can be conducted in primary care medical facilities, pharmacies, and specialized screening points without the direct involvement of an ophthalmologist at the stage of obtaining the image.
Currently, the platform is primarily focused on detecting diabetic retinopathy and signs of vascular diseases, including arterial hypertension. In the future, developers plan to expand the technology's capabilities to assess the risks of more than 50 diseases.
According to the project description presented to the competition organizers, CheckEye has already examined more than 15 thousand people in five countries: Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Romania, and Great Britain.
The company reports that the sensitivity of the algorithms in detecting diabetic retinopathy is at the level of 93–95% and a specificity of around 90%. These indicators are listed in the tender documentation and characterize the results of the development claimed by the team.
As part of the pilot program of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, implemented from October 2024 to March 2025 in the Odesa and Chernihiv regions, more than 870 patients with diabetes underwent examinations. According to the project data, about a quarter of the participants were referred for treatment.
The $175 thousand received from the competition the company plans to direct towards scaling the technology and further developing methods for the early diagnosis of chronic diseases.
“For us, it is a great honor to represent and popularize Ukrainian innovations in the world. This global recognition confirms that our technology has the potential to change the approach to treating chronic diseases — from fighting the consequences to early prevention,” said Kirylo Honcharuk, founder and CEO of CheckEye, in a company comment.
According to NAM, 147 applications from participants who previously received program support were considered in the final stage of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition. Winners in various categories included 14 projects, among which $2 million were distributed.
Two projects received the main prizes of $700 thousand each, while two others, including the Ukrainian CheckEye, took second place and received $175 thousand each. The third prize was $125 thousand, and nine other projects were recognized with encouraging awards.
In total, over seven years of the international program, initiated by NAM in 2019, its organizers and partners supported more than 725 projects for a total of more than $38 million. The program covered more than 50 countries and territories.
For CheckEye, the award was another step in international recognition. Previously, the Ukrainian startup received support from EIT Health, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Google for Startups, and also became the winner of the EIT Health InnoStars Awards 2024.
According to NAM, the total amount of support attracted by CheckEye before receiving the current award exceeded $750 thousand.
CheckEye is a Ukrainian HealthTech company that specializes in creating medical screening technologies using artificial intelligence. Its platform is designed for the early detection of diseases based on the analysis of retinal images and expanding the accessibility of preventive examinations. The founder and CEO of the company is Kyrylo Honcharuk.
