Compact Imaging, IPIC to Commercialize OCT Biosensor

Compact Imaging Inc. has teamed up with the Irish Photonic Integration Center (IPIC) to bring compact optical biosensor technology to the market.

The company said its benchtop prototype MRO (multiple reference optical coherence tomography) technology enables tissue imaging and analysis at a reduced size and cost compared to conventional OCT systems.

IPIC will provide photonic integration and packaging expertise, specialized equipment and funding to develop miniaturized, low-cost modules suitable for integration with mobile devices and high-volume production.

Potential applications for the technology include health and fitness, cosmetics and skin care, ophthalmology and eye care, and biometric security.

“We believe there will be huge demand for MRO sensors in fast-growing markets such as fingerprint device authentication and mobile health monitoring,” said Compact Imaging CEO Don Bogue.

The company said it has already demonstrated technical feasibility of MRO in human subject tests.

The collaboration was announced Tuesday at Science Foundation Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day conference in Washington by Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who said, “This development is another example of how collaborations between the two countries can lead to the development of breakthrough technologies and the growth of exciting new startup ventures that have the potential to deliver societal and economic benefits.”

A new, four-year R&D partnership between IPIC and the multinational medical technology company Stryker was also announced at the event.

More than 80 percent of Compact Imaging’s capital is from Irish investors, and the company has a long-standing research collaboration with the Tissue Optics and Microcirculation Imaging Labs (TOMI) under the leadership of professor Dr. Martin Leahy at the National University of Ireland Galway.

Compact Imaging has 14 U.S. patents and an even greater number of pending U.S. and foreign applications in MRO and OCT-based imaging and biometry.

IPIC — funded by Science Foundation Ireland and based at Ireland’s Tyndall National Institute — brings together more than 100 researchers from four institutes and works with 18 industry partners to develop miniaturized photonics devices for the information and communications technology, medical devices and diagnostics sectors.

For more information, visit www.compactimaging.com and www.ipic.ie.