SpaMedica announces rollout to all hospitals
Background
In December 2025, SpaMedica announced the rollout of Aetheia:Auto across its entire hospital network, following a successful period of clinical use and evaluation. This marks one of the largest deployments of automated eye examination technology in the UK and represents a major milestone for both SpaMedica and Eyoto.
Eyoto and SpaMedica began working together in October 2024, initially deploying Aetheia systems in four live hospital environments. These early installations focused on validating remote and automated examination workflows in real world clinical settings, with particular emphasis on efficiency, image quality, and clinical confidence.
While continuing to support Aetheia:Remote in the market, Eyoto was simultaneously advancing the next generation of digital slit lamp technology. This work culminated in the launch of Auto-Optometry™ in August 2024, enabling fully automated anterior eye examinations with no technician input. This forward thinking approach to product development laid the foundations for scalable, technician led and asynchronous workflows.
Mail on Sunday Article
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Innovation
Auto-Optometry™ represents a step change in how eye examinations can be delivered. By automating image capture, alignment, illumination, and examination protocols, Aetheia:Auto removes variability from the examination process while maintaining clinical quality.
This innovation was specifically designed to support high volume healthcare environments, where consistency, throughput, and workforce flexibility are critical. The ability to perform repeatable, standardised examinations without requiring a skilled operator at the point of care was a key factor in enabling SpaMedica to consider deployment at scale.
Outcome
Following extensive clinical use, SpaMedica’s clinical leadership recognised the significant operational and clinical benefits delivered by Aetheia:Auto. These included improved patient flow, greater consistency of examinations, and the ability to expand services without increasing specialist staffing requirements.
As a result, SpaMedica announced in December 2025 that Aetheia:Auto would be rolled out across all hospitals in its network. This decision reflects not only confidence in the technology itself, but also in Eyoto’s forward thinking approach to automated eye care and its commitment to developing solutions that meet the evolving needs of modern healthcare systems.
This nationwide rollout underscores the role of Auto-Optometry™ as an enabling technology and positions Aetheia as a cornerstone of SpaMedica’s future eye care delivery model.
Patients set to benefit from new tech that can diagnose complex eye conditions and could slash waiting lists (click to view article)
Luke Chafer
Thousands of patients in remote parts of the country are set to benefit from a pioneering new technology that can diagnose complex eye conditions and could cut waiting lists.
The ‘revolutionary’ diagnostic tool, which can identify conditions such as cataracts, can be performed remotely meaning that patients receive consistently high-quality care no matter where they live.
The technology, called Aetheia, is being deployed by SpaMedica, one of the UK’s leading independent providers of NHS ophthalmology services, which runs 68 hospitals across the country.
It offers high-resolution eye exams that can be performed and securely streamed in real time to the optometrist, who then completes a clinical assessment remotely.
Naomi Maunder, a hospital optometrist at one of SpaMedica’s NHS facilities said: ‘It’s a game-changing innovation which brings the professional to the patient – and potentially revolutionary, particularly for urgent eye care.’
Currently nearly 600,000 people are waiting for specialist eye care on the NHS with a third waiting longer than the 18-week target time.
One of the most common procedures is cataracts surgery with about 700,000 people in the UK living with the problem.
Clinicians say the technology has already helped reduce waiting lists for this procedure.
The national roll-out follows a pilot of 100 clinics and feedback from more than 2,000 patients.
The research found that the remote-led assessments resulted in fewer cancelled clinics, shorter waiting times and fewer unnecessary journeys for patients.
The diagnostic tool also allows for out-of-hours care to be provided.
Helen Kitchen, SpaMedica’s regional team lead optometrist, said: ‘Aetheia has helped massively with patient care.
‘When it is difficult to find cover for clinics, it has allowed me to assess and list patients for cataract surgery in the south while I have been located in the north.
‘This helps to keep waiting times down and gives the patients easy, quick access to vital treatment.’
Luke Chafer, The Daily Mail
All Case Studies
Optical Express Efficiency
Consistency and efficiency with Aetheia:Remote Background Optical Express operates a large network of clinics across the UK and is continually exploring ways to deliver high quality examinations while making the best use of clinical expertise. For their remote locations, they wanted a solution that would allow Optometrists to work efficiently across sites while ensuring every…
US Retail Scale
Efficiency and image reliability with Aetheia:Auto Background A major US retail chain that delivers eye care services was looking to improve the efficiency of its existing slit lamp examination process. Technician led imaging was taking too long, training demands were high and the associated operational costs would increase as they scale. The retailer began evaluating…
The “SpaMedica Experience”
Clinical standards with Aetheia:Remote Background SpaMedica needed to maintain consistent cataract grading quality across its network while improving flexibility in clinic staffing. In-person examinations delivered excellent outcomes, but covering all sites with their own in-house Optometrists was increasingly challenging, particularly during periods of high demand, and this was impacting the number of clinics being scheduled…