Eye care software company Topcon Healthcare Solutions revealed on Friday that it has signed a partnership to support the transition plan of IBM Watson Health Imaging's Merge Eye Station digital fundus imaging platform and Merge Eye Care PACS web-based image system.

IBM's Merge Eye Station and Merge Eye Care PACS products are web-based image management system from its global eye care division that are being end-of-lifed (EOL ).

By the end of 2020, IBM plans to discontinue customer support for Merge Eye Care PACS and Merge Eye Station customers.

Under the transition agreement, IBM's customers will 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.

In conjunction with the agreement, Topcon Harmony will provide seamless data migration from Merge, support all Eye Station users regardless of existing hardware and offer a trade-in support programme that gives all existing Merge customers the ability to upgrade to the latest Topcon imaging technology.The Merge Eye Care PACS and Eye Station users will seamlessly transition to Topcon Harmony.