Omega Optical Inc.

!%Omega Optical Inc.%! of Brattleboro, Vt., has received a $750,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Cancer Institute for the development of a high-speed fiber optic-based optical spectrum analyzer that will be interfaced to confocal scanning microscopy and endoscopy systems. The company’s development efforts are under way at its Vermont plant, and subcontracts will be issued to Spectral Molecular Imaging (SMI) of Beverly Hills, Calif., and to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. SMI will test the system on fixed samples (microscope slides), and Cedars-Sinai will test it on live animal models via endoscopy. The project is expected to accelerate the development of a new class of medical endoscopes enhanced with proprietary multispectral imaging technology.