Man in lab coat looks at screen showing eye measurement software.

Carl Zeiss Meditec AG

Cloud-based clinical decision support solution

Implementation of a cloud solution for cataract surgeries

The cloud-based solution helps ophthalmologists prepare, perform and follow up on cataract surgeries. The surgery involves removing the patient’s natural lens and replacing it with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). The doctor can use the cloud solution to calculate and select the IOL that best fits the patient. The centerpiece of the solution is a Kubernetes-based cloud platform that calculates the IOLs, manages lens master data and allows doctors to personalize their lens calculations based on past surgeries. The solution runs on Microsoft Azure. It is an approved medical device and is already in use at hospitals and medical practices.

Desktop showing software for ophthalmologists.

ZEISS Digital Innovation tasks

The two ZEISS Digital Innovation teams were a fixed part of the development program. Their main task was to fully implement the cloud solution and different web interfaces. Several ZEISS Digital Innovation consultants help the customer develop the JavaFX-based Forum plugin.

Approach

The Scrum teams at ZEISS Digital Innovation work closely with the product owner at Carl Zeiss Meditec AG and regularly deliver new software versions for acceptance. When implementing the solution, high demands were made of automated testing and infrastructure in order to ensure continuous delivery despite the highly regulated environment. In addition to the implementation, ZEISS Digital Innovation is helping with app operation.

Our Services:

Planning
Requirements management
Stakeholder coordination
Design and implementation of the solution architecture
Implementation of the cloud solution

Implementation of the web client
JavaFX component development
Quality assurance & documentation
Support in using the application

ZEISS Digital Innovation was a critical success factor for the implementation of our cloud-based solution. The teams showed exceptional dedication every day, and always acted in a results-oriented and constructive way to develop the product, without making any compromises in terms of quality. They were very professional, and I look forward to working on further projects with ZEISS Digital Innovation.

Rainer Scheubeck Program Manager ZEISS Ophthalmic Devices – Carl Zeiss Meditec AG

Schematic overview of the cloud architecture

Cloud architecture concept

When selecting the architecture and technology, it was important to ensure independence from the chosen cloud provider in order to avoid a vendor lock-in. The microservices are thus operated within a Kubernetes cluster based on Docker containers. Administration of this cluster is simplified through the use of the Azure Kubernetes service.

Native services from the cloud provider, such as the NoSQL database CosmosDB or the Azure AD B2C Identity Provider, are connected via standardized and distributed interfaces in order to ensure independence from the chosen cloud platform. The Angular single-page web app framework was used to implement the web client as it offers comprehensive functions for the development of sophisticated web applications.

Technical environment

Java, Spring Boot, Angular, Redux, TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Protractor, Kubernetes, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure CosmosDB, Azure DNS, Azure Load Balancer, Docker, Azure AD B2C, Azure Container Registry, Hashi Corp Terraform, TeamCity, Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, Git, JavaFX

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