Transforming Eye Care in Sri Lanka: Dhanushi’s Journey with Ophtha Innovations

For Dhanushi Hettiarachchi, the path to innovation began with a lifelong dream: to become a medical doctor. Born and raised in Sri Lanka, she always aspired to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. After excelling at the national competitive examination, she earned admission to the University of Peradeniya, where she pursued her medical degree. She later practised as a general practitioner. But her story didn’t stop there.

In 2018, inspired by global MedTech trends, she saw how emerging technologies were transforming healthcare, especially for underserved populations. Motivated by her father’s struggle with diabetic retinopathy, a progressive eye disease that often goes undetected until irreversible damage occurs, Dhanushi set out to explore solutions. She saw firsthand her father’s experience with long, expensive procedures to diagnose and manage the condition. Additionally, the realisation that Sri Lanka has only around 100 ophthalmologists for a population of 20 million highlighted an urgent need. With one in five Sri Lankans affected by diabetes, and both Type 1 and Type 2 patients at risk of diabetic retinopathy, too many people were being missed.

Founding Ophtha Innovations: A Purpose-Driven Startup

In Colombo, Dhanushi co-founded Ophtha Innovations (Pvt) Ltd, a purpose-driven MedTech startup aimed at tackling diabetic retinopathy with AI-powered screening systems. Unlike solutions in Europe, existing software wasn’t compatible with fundoscopes commonly used in Sri Lanka, nor adaptable to the unique challenges of the local healthcare system.

Partnering with a Japanese fundoscope manufacturer, Ophtha developed a tailored solution for Sri Lanka and the wider South Asia region. The startup collects and validates its own data, essential for training the AI system and creating robust datasets—a valuable competitive advantage in the IP landscape.

Ophtha’s goal is ambitious: to screen 95-97 per cent of diabetic patients in Sri Lanka, particularly in rural areas where access to specialists is limited. Their system aims to integrate seamlessly with optician services, referring high-risk patients to ophthalmologists for timely intervention.

The Power of IP: Joining WIPO’s Scale Up Your IP Programme

While Dhanushi had a clear idea for her startup, she admits she wasn’t initially familiar with the importance of intellectual property (IP) in protecting innovations. She didn’t realise how valuable IP rights, trademarks and data protection were for a startup like hers.

This changed when she joined WIPO’s Scale Up Your IP programme, which offers actionable IP commercialisation training to support deep-tech ventures and spin-offs to maximise value from their IP. Through the programme, Dhanushi learned how to protect Ophtha Innovations’ AI system, datasets and brand. “The workshop taught me the basics of IP and inspired me to apply for trademark registration and a patent. It also showed me how to use trade secrets to safeguard our data,” she shares.

Dhanushi is now part of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Global Initiative on AI for Health, collaborating with experts from around the world to refine and scale Ophtha Innovations’ technology.

Looking Ahead: Ambitions for the Future

Dhanushi’s dream is to expand Ophtha Innovations into the largest MedTech startup in South Asia, screening not just for diabetic retinopathy, but also for other conditions like glaucoma, genetic and age-related eye diseases.

“Our goal is to help as many people as possible, especially in rural areas where access to specialists is limited,” she says.

Her advice to fellow entrepreneurs? “Don’t underestimate the value of intellectual property—it’s what protects your ideas and gives your startup an edge,” Dhanushi says, adding: “Data is power—build strong datasets because they are key to AI systems and have high IP value.”

With Dhanushi at the helm, Ophtha Innovations is not just transforming eye care in Sri Lanka—it’s lighting the way for healthcare innovation across the region.

WIPO’s Scale Up Your IP Programme

Scale Up Your IP addresses a critical gap in deep-tech innovation. Most universities and Research and Development (R&D) centres produce breakthrough innovations, but intellectual property commercialisation remains difficult. Unlike traditional startups, deep-tech ventures operate in a highly complex landscape of long R&D cycles, high capital requirements and intricate IP considerations. Co-founders from different labs, integration of multiple technologies and relationships with university grants make IP strategy even more critical.

This flexible programme works with university incubators and techno parks to deliver IP commercialisation modules directly to their resident ventures and spin-offs. The objective is to equip innovators with the ability to embed IP strategies into their commercialisation plans early. This capability facilitates choices that accelerate growth, increases the value of potential spin-offs and enables cost-effective interactions with lawyers when resources are limited and must be maximised. By connecting cutting-edge research with strategic IP planning, Scale Up Your IP helps transform promising technologies into market-ready solutions that drive economic impact.

This story was originally published on WIPO's website. Learn more about the UN's work in Sri Lanka on the UN team's website.