Our Story

A scientific milestone

THE ORIGIN OF RETICARE

9 September 2013

Hotel Ritz · Madrid

Public launch of reticare® · Hotel Ritz de Madrid · September 2013

In 2013, researchers from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, led by Dr. Celia Sánchez-Ramos, presented alongside Nilo García Manchado, CEO and founder of reticare®, the results of experimental in vitro studies describing an unprecedented finding in the field of visual health.

The photoreceptor cells of the human retina suffer massive and irreversible damage when exposed to high-energy LED light — the same light emitted by all the digital screens we use every day.

The most unsettling part: that damage doesn't hurt. It gives no warning. It accumulates silently over years, without the person affected noticing, until the consequences are irreversible.

The event brought together researchers, ophthalmologists and media. It was the first public warning about a risk that, at the time, few wanted to acknowledge — and which today affects millions of people around the world.

Human retinal cells suffer massive damage when directly exposed to high-energy LED light.

Dr. Celia Sánchez-Ramos · Universidad Complutense de Madrid · 2013

This is where the reticare® mission begins.

See the scientific evidence →

From pioneers to world reference

Over 20 years
building the evidence

2002 The start of the research

First experimental studies on the retina

Dr. Celia Sánchez-Ramos begins the first studies at UCM on the impact of high-energy light on retinal photoreceptor cells. Animal models with rats. The starting point of everything.

2009 International recognition

WIPO Award — Best International Female Inventor

The World Intellectual Property Organization recognises the work of Dr. Sánchez-Ramos with the Best International Female Inventor award, validating the global significance of the research.

2010 UN recognition

Grand Prize for Best International Invention

The United Nations awards the Grand Prize for Best International Invention to the technology developed at UCM. The research on the effects of high-energy LED light is recognised as one of the most relevant of the year.

2012 Academic projection

Nomination for the Prince of Asturias Award

The research of Dr. Sánchez-Ramos is nominated for the Prince of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research, consolidating her position as a world reference in digital light phototoxicity.

2013 The birth of reticare®

Public launch — Hotel Ritz, Madrid

On 9 September, Dr. Sánchez-Ramos and Nilo García Manchado present to researchers, ophthalmologists and media the experimental evidence on the effects of high-energy LED light on retinal photoreceptor cells. This is where the reticare® mission is born.

2015 Expansion in North America

Incorporation of Reticare Inc. in the United States

reticare® incorporates its US subsidiary, Reticare Inc., consolidating its presence in the North American market. The UCM-developed technology (380–590 nm) becomes accessible in one of the world's largest digital markets.

2017 International scientific validation

Results presented at Harvard and the Madrid College of Physicians

The results of the experimental studies with animal models are presented at Harvard University and before the Official College of Physicians of Madrid. The scientific evidence on the effects of high-energy LED light reaches the world's most demanding academic forums.

2021 Legal protection of the technology

Patent grants in the US and Europe

reticare® obtains formal patent grants in both the United States and Europe, consolidating the legal protection of the technology developed by UCM. An institutional endorsement that confirms the originality and scientific value of the optical filter against high-energy light exposure.

Today Global presence

+600,000 users in +30 countries

reticare® is today the only optical filter with an international patent developed from real scientific evidence. More than 12 years of track record and presence in more than 30 countries. One single mission: that digital progress does not come at the cost of people's visual health.

The track record in numbers

Data that backs a scientific track record

+600K

Satisfied users worldwide

reticare® technology present in more than 30 countries across five continents.

+20

Years of pioneering scientific research

From the first studies at UCM to the in vivo and in vitro validation of the technology.

+1.500

Participants in experimental studies

Research with animal and human models supporting the optical filter behavior of reticare® products.

+30

Countries with active reticare® presence

From Spain to the United States, through Europe, Latin America and Asia. A global mission.

What defines us

Three principles that haven't
changed in 20 years

Scientific responsibility

reticare® is born from evidence and takes responsibility for acting when that evidence demonstrates a real risk to visual health. Every product, every message and every decision is based on verified knowledge, validated in vivo and in vitro by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Not on trends. Not on opinions. On science.

+20 years of real scientific research

Long-term commitment

From the first experimental study in 2002 to today, reticare® maintains a constant and continuous commitment to developing optical technology to reduce exposure to high-energy light. We are not a trend product or a digital health startup. We are the direct result of more than two decades of rigorous, sustained work oriented towards a single objective: reducing the real impact of daily screen exposure.

2002 start of the first studies at UCM

Pioneers, not trend

When reticare® first warned about retinal damage from LED light, nobody was talking about blue light. It was 2013. Today that message is mainstream — and there are hundreds of products using it as a marketing claim with no real scientific backing. We have spent more than 12 years being the first to say it, and we remain the only ones with an international patent validated by UCM.

+12 years warning before anyone else

CEO and Founder of reticare®

Nilo García

Nilo García Manchado brought the strategic and technological perspective that made it possible to turn a university scientific patent into a real market solution. With an extensive career in the Information Technology sector, he understood before anyone else that the growing intensity and sharpness of new screens would have a biological cost that the industry was ignoring.

As CEO and founder, he has led the international expansion of reticare® — now present in more than 30 countries — without losing sight of the original mission: that digital progress does not compromise the visual health of future generations. His ultimate goal is to establish new safety standards in the technology industry.

Scientific Director and Inventor

Dr. Celia Sánchez-Ramos

Dr. Celia Sánchez-Ramos is the world's leading authority on digital light phototoxicity. A doctor from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Preventive Medicine and Vision Sciences, she has spent more than 20 years leading the pioneering studies that described the effects of exposure to high-energy LED light (380–500 nm) on retinal photoreceptor cells.

Her vocation transcends the laboratory. She co-founded reticare® to turn her scientific findings into an accessible solution. Thanks to her scientific direction, reticare® is not an accessory — it is the direct application of more than two decades of university research in the service of people's visual health.