Privacy, Data Use and Terms

DECODE provides ophthalmic calculation and analytical tools for professional and research use. The platform processes information entered by users only as necessary to perform the requested calculations and generate the requested outputs.

Clinical, demographic, and research data submitted for Individual Analysis or Batch Analysis are not persisted by the DECODE application after processing.

Information processed by the platform

Individual Analysis

Users may enter:

  • Age and sex
  • Symptom questionnaire scores
  • Eye-specific clinical measurements
  • Potential factors associated with symptom–sign discordance
  • Calculation settings
  • An optional patient name for PDF generation

This information is processed to perform the requested analysis and generate the corresponding results.

A patient name is optional. If provided, it is used only to generate the current PDF report and is not persisted by the DECODE application.

Clinical and demographic information entered for Individual Analysis is not persisted by the DECODE application after processing.

Batch Analysis

Users may upload datasets containing:

  • Symptom questionnaire scores
  • Eye-specific clinical measurements
  • Calculation settings and other variables supported by the analysis

Batch Analysis processes the uploaded dataset to perform the requested calculations and generate the corresponding output.

Uploaded datasets and participant-level clinical data are not persisted by the DECODE application after processing.

Batch Analysis does not require patient names or other direct patient identifiers.

Data minimization and information you should not enter

DECODE is designed according to the principle of data minimization. Direct patient identifiers are not required to perform its calculations.

Users should not enter or upload unnecessary direct patient identifiers or Protected Health Information (PHI).

For Batch Analysis, datasets should be appropriately de-identified before upload. Users should not include patient names, medical record numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, telephone numbers, government identification numbers, or other direct patient identifiers.

DECODE does not determine or certify whether a dataset satisfies a particular legal or regulatory standard for de-identification. Users and their institutions are responsible for determining whether data have been appropriately prepared for their intended use and applicable requirements.

Patient name for Individual Analysis PDF

A patient name may optionally be entered when generating an Individual Analysis PDF.

If provided, the name is processed only for generation of the requested PDF and is not persisted by the DECODE application.

Users should only enter a patient name when doing so is appropriate under their applicable professional, institutional, privacy, and legal requirements.

How information is used

Information submitted to DECODE is processed only as necessary to:

  • Perform the requested calculations
  • Generate individual or batch results
  • Generate reports or output files requested by the user
  • Support the technical operation and security of the platform

Clinical, demographic, and research data submitted for analysis are not used for advertising and are not persisted by the DECODE application after processing.

Administrative and usage statistics

DECODE may collect limited operational and usage information necessary to understand platform use, maintain functionality, and monitor technical performance.

Administrative statistics may include information such as the number of analyses performed, analysis type, usage over time, and other non-patient-level operational metrics.

Clinical measurements, symptom questionnaire responses, demographic information, patient names, uploaded Batch Analysis datasets, and participant-level calculation results are not retained for administrative analytics.

Administrative statistics are intended to describe platform operation and should not be interpreted as epidemiological or clinical population findings.

Public and administrative access

Public users can perform calculations but cannot access administrative functions or information associated with other users' analyses.

Administrative access is restricted to authenticated administrators and is limited to operational and usage information retained by the platform.

Because clinical, demographic, and participant-level analysis data are not persisted, they are not available for later browsing or retrieval through the DECODE administrative interface.

United States regulatory clarification

DECODE does not claim or certify compliance with the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Whether HIPAA applies depends on how the platform is used, the organization using it, its regulatory status, and whether Protected Health Information (PHI) is processed.

DECODE is designed to minimize the collection and persistence of patient information, and Batch Analysis is intended for appropriately de-identified datasets. However, DECODE does not determine or certify that information or datasets satisfy HIPAA de-identification requirements.

Organizations and users subject to HIPAA or other privacy, security, or institutional requirements are responsible for determining whether their intended use of DECODE complies with applicable requirements.

Clinical and research use

DECODE is a proof-of-concept analytical framework. Its methodology requires independent validation before clinical use.

The platform is intended to support clinical and research analytical workflows and does not replace professional clinical judgment.

DECODE results should be interpreted by qualified eye-care professionals or appropriately trained researchers, as applicable.

Results generated by DECODE do not constitute an independent medical diagnosis or treatment recommendation.

Terms of Use

By using DECODE, users acknowledge that:

  • The platform is intended for professional, research, and analytical use.
  • Users are responsible for the accuracy and appropriateness of the information they enter or upload.
  • Users should not submit unnecessary direct patient identifiers or PHI.
  • Batch datasets should be appropriately de-identified before upload.
  • Users and their institutions are responsible for complying with applicable privacy, research, professional, institutional, and legal requirements.
  • Calculations and outputs depend on the information provided by the user.
  • DECODE is a proof-of-concept framework whose methodology requires independent validation.
  • Results do not constitute an independent medical diagnosis or treatment recommendation.
  • DECODE does not replace professional clinical judgment.

Data protection approach

DECODE follows principles of data minimization, purpose limitation, restricted administrative access, transparency, and reasonable technical safeguards.

Clinical, demographic, and research information submitted for Individual Analysis or Batch Analysis is processed for the requested analysis and is not persisted by the DECODE application after processing.

Optional patient names entered for Individual Analysis are processed only for generation of the requested PDF and are not persisted by the DECODE application.

Uploaded Batch Analysis datasets and participant-level results are not retained by the DECODE application after processing.

Limited non-clinical operational information may be retained when necessary for platform functionality, security, and usage analytics.

Technical cookies

Technical cookies may be used when necessary for secure administrative authentication, session management, security, and essential platform functionality.

Usage Analytics

DECODE may use a first-party visitor identifier to estimate unique visitors and understand general platform usage.

The platform may derive an approximate country from network information. This is not GPS information and does not represent an exact physical location.

IP addresses are not retained as part of DECODE Usage Analytics.

Usage Analytics does not store patient names, clinical measurements, symptom questionnaire responses, demographic information, uploaded research datasets, or participant-level analysis results.

Usage Analytics is not used to identify patients or research participants and is not used for advertising tracking.