SKANEATELES FALLS, N.Y., April 28 -- Welch Allyn Inc. and Applied Spectral Imaging Ltd. of Israel have agreed to jointly develop portable retinal imaging diagnostic products able to detect retinal diseases that may lead to blindness. The companies plan to use Applied Spectral Imaging's proprietary SpectraCube spectral imaging technology to identify and track the progression of retinal eye disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Welch Allyn will make investments in Applied Spectral Imaging in accordance with product development milestones. The agreement also assigns to Welch Allyn the marketing rights for the jointly developed products. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.According to the Applied Spectral Imaging, SpectraCube separates the spectral content of light reacting with retinal tissue to provide a multi-dimensional database that can be used for image enhancement and analysis. The company asserts that spectral retinal imaging provides information not obtainable using existing techniques on key parameters of the retina, such as oxygen saturation -- an early indicator of most retinal diseases.