University of Liverpool spin-out develops cutting-edge eye-care technology, to democratise access to quality eye care.
The science behind Ocuwell’s technology links back to decades of research undertaken within the University of Liverpool, led by Prof Ahmed Elsheikh, and a drive to improve existing MedTech solutions in the global market.
Following further conversations with patients and eye care specialists at Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital in Chennai, Prof Elsheikh received a grant in 2020 to fund an early stage prototype of an imaging device. With this came the decision to formalise the company as a spin-out from the university, bringing his partner Rania Maklad on board as CEO.
Utilising academic connections in Egypt, Brazil and China, combined with support through National Institute for Health and Care Research, UK Research and Innovation, and Innovate UK, the company is now scaling at pace.
Prof Ahmed Elsheikh, Chief Scientific Officer at Ocuwell, said:
“Our technology is transforming corneal diagnostics through portable, affordable, and cloud-enabled solutions designed to deliver clinical-grade performance outside of traditional hospital settings, as well as developing software tools to customise several corneal treatments to individual patient’s needs.
“Our recent expansion into Liverpool Science Park is also enabling us to diversify the application of our technology into the contact lens market, reducing the number of appointments patients need to undertake, thanks to the very precise measurements achieved through our imaging device.”
Since October 2025, Ocuwell has been located within Sciontec-owned Liverpool Science Park, having outgrown their previous workspace within the University campus. The husband and wife team now employ 10 people as biomedical, simulation, electronic and software engineers, as well as in operations and regulatory management roles, split across two private office suites.
Rania Maklad, Chief Executive Officer at Ocuwell, added:
“We have had a massive amount of support from the University of Liverpool, but it was really important for our external investment proposition to have our own commercial workspace. Liverpool Science Park is ideally located, retaining close proximity to the university and benefitting from excellent transport networks.
“Being embedded within the local innovation ecosystem is another key advantage for us, and we have worked closely with LYVA Labs, Northern Gritstone, and Deepbridge Capital, who have been very helpful in helping us to secure more funding.”
Ocuwell’s latest round of seed funding closed in August 2025, having been backed by over £2 million in non-equity government grants and substantial external investment. This has allowed the MedTech company to rapidly advance from concept to clinically validated technology, which is currently being trialled within an Indian hospital. They have also secured an agreement with an international manufacturer to produce their corneal topography system, which is available in both portable and desktop configurations.
Looking ahead, Ocuwell’s R&D efforts are focused on fundamentally rethinking the architecture of traditional corneal topography systems. By replacing expensive hardware components commonly used in conventional devices with intelligent, low-cost software solutions, the company aims to significantly reduce manufacturing costs while maintaining clinical-grade accuracy. This software-led approach will enable greater scalability and substantially improve accessibility to high-quality corneal diagnostics across diverse healthcare settings.
Having been shortlisted for the 2025 Bionow Investment Deal of the Year Award with LYVA Labs, won the Scale-Up Excellence Award at STFC’s DeepTech Catalyst Demo Day, featured in Global Good’s Impact interview series, and most recently participated in the LCR Tech Climbers 2026 Founder Panel, Ocuwell continues to gain strong regional and national recognition. These milestones reflect the company’s rapid progress and growing reputation as one of the Liverpool City Region’s leading deep-tech innovators — and signal that it will not remain a hidden success for long.
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