This is a long week for those of us “all in” at BiOS and Photonics West, but though it’s not even halfway over, I can already tell it won’t be long enough for me to see all that I want to.
This is a long week for those of us “all in” at BiOS and Photonics West, but though it’s not even halfway over, I can already tell it won’t be long enough for me to see all that I want to.
I spent much of today in the Lasers and Photonics Marketplace seminar, wherein leaders of the greater optics and photonics industry reported and forecasted market outcomes, and discussed important developments. Laser Focus World chief editor Steve Anderson predicted that when all the 2008 numbers are in, the biomedical therapy market will reveal a decline of ~5% from 2007 levels, and 2009 figures will decline a bit further to $477 million in sales.
I also got to talk a bit with Claude Boccara of LLTech (Paris, France) following his presentation on an imaging approach his company calls “full field OCT.” It is unusual in that instead of imaging vertical “slices” of tissue (perpendicular to the probe) as do other optical coherence tomography scanners, LLTech’s “en face” approach images horizontally (parallel to the probe). While this inherently involves a limited depth of field, the approach is able to image a larger area and promises better penetration. The system combines the layers to produce the same kind of image cube that traditional OCT systems do—and lets you step through the cube by peeling away vertical slices. LLTech plans to launch its system commercially in 2010.
Oh, and I reported only one of the presentations at Saturday night’s Hot Topics session—so let me fill you in on another: Kishan Dholakia of the University of St. Andrews (U.K.) discussed photoporation (also called optical injection or transfection) of exogenous DNA into a cell, saying it is “set to become a mainstay in microscopy,” thanks especially to “novel light beams and optical technology and control.” Thanks, that is, to beam shaping.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
First dispatch from BiOS/PW '09
Introducing the “hot topics” session tonight at SPIE’s BiOS event, Dr. Rox Anderson noted that the BiOS conference is now nearing half the size of Photonics West!
Introducing the “hot topics” session tonight at SPIE’s BiOS event, Dr. Rox Anderson noted that the BiOS conference is now nearing half the size of Photonics West!
The session itself began with Dr. Stefan Hell demonstrating how his Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscope breaks the diffraction barrier to achieve super-resolution imaging (28X greater than confocal, down to 8 nm) within living neurons, for instance—and record at 28 frames per second. Wow.
In the exhibit hall I found a couple of vendors claiming unique capabilities. For instance, Innolume says its quantum dot technology exploits wavelengths that nobody else touches--in the 1120 - 1210 nm range (actually Innolume covers a wider spread--1064 - 1320 nm--but other companies have offerings at either end of that range). Another, Translume, is using lasers to produce glass waveguides and other microstructures such as microfluidic channels.
Michelson Diagnostics demonstrated its handheld OCT probe for imaging skin. The company is targeting non-opthalmic applications, and in fact plans to attend or exhibit at dermatology events in 2009.
Kapteyn Murnane Laboratories (KMLabs for short), which develops low-cost ultrafast amplifier systems to compete with some of the larger developers, said it shortly plans to introduce a new device about half the size of its current systems.
More soon--stay tuned!
Introducing the “hot topics” session tonight at SPIE’s BiOS event, Dr. Rox Anderson noted that the BiOS conference is now nearing half the size of Photonics West!
The session itself began with Dr. Stefan Hell demonstrating how his Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscope breaks the diffraction barrier to achieve super-resolution imaging (28X greater than confocal, down to 8 nm) within living neurons, for instance—and record at 28 frames per second. Wow.
In the exhibit hall I found a couple of vendors claiming unique capabilities. For instance, Innolume says its quantum dot technology exploits wavelengths that nobody else touches--in the 1120 - 1210 nm range (actually Innolume covers a wider spread--1064 - 1320 nm--but other companies have offerings at either end of that range). Another, Translume, is using lasers to produce glass waveguides and other microstructures such as microfluidic channels.
Michelson Diagnostics demonstrated its handheld OCT probe for imaging skin. The company is targeting non-opthalmic applications, and in fact plans to attend or exhibit at dermatology events in 2009.
Kapteyn Murnane Laboratories (KMLabs for short), which develops low-cost ultrafast amplifier systems to compete with some of the larger developers, said it shortly plans to introduce a new device about half the size of its current systems.
More soon--stay tuned!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
My BiOS/PW jogging route includes…
The SPIE, producer of Photonics West (January 24-29) and BiOS (the largest of its four symposia), says that the 2009 BiOS event, starting on Saturday, will be ~15% larger than it was in 2008. I’ve packed my jogging shoes because the exhibits run only 9 hours and feature 150 companies. (The hall opens Saturday at 1 pm till 5 pm, and Sunday from 10 am till 4 pm). Here are a few stops I’m looking forward to:
The SPIE, producer of Photonics West (January 24-29) and BiOS (the largest of its four symposia), says that the 2009 BiOS event, starting on Saturday, will be ~15% larger than it was in 2008. I’ve packed my jogging shoes because the exhibits run only 9 hours and feature 150 companies. (The hall opens Saturday at 1 pm till 5 pm, and Sunday from 10 am till 4 pm). Here are a few stops I’m looking forward to:
Fianium (booth 8132) will demonstrate its recently announced supercontinuum fiber lasers, the first to use the company's new proprietary high performance photonic crystal fiber (PCF) design, developed in partnership with the University of Bath (Bath, England). The technology promises key advantages over traditional supercontinuum techniques.
Michelson Diagnostics’ (booth 8731) will demo its prototype hand-held OCT probe, based on multi-beam technology. The company plans to launch “more than one variant” of the new probe later in 2009, including a dermal version (with X-Y scanning, to enable 3D mapping of skin lesions) and a version equipped with a rigid endoscope, suitable for oral applications. The company will apply for a CE mark for the product this spring, and then file an FDA 510(k) application.
Of course the larger Photonics West event (exhibits open Tuesday, January 27) will feature plenty of companies targeting bio-optics applications, too. For instance Cal Sensors (booth 6234) will introduce LIRA-5S, a lead selenide thermal imaging array that combines sensitivity in a wider wavelength range with integrated electronics. The device can be programmed for use in a wide variety of high-speed thermal imaging applications.
And Inno-Spec GmbH (booth 1801) will introduce a mid-infrared (MIR) compact line-array spectrometer with sensitivity in the 1-3 micron wavelength region that is less expensive than competing technologies.
The SPIE, producer of Photonics West (January 24-29) and BiOS (the largest of its four symposia), says that the 2009 BiOS event, starting on Saturday, will be ~15% larger than it was in 2008. I’ve packed my jogging shoes because the exhibits run only 9 hours and feature 150 companies. (The hall opens Saturday at 1 pm till 5 pm, and Sunday from 10 am till 4 pm). Here are a few stops I’m looking forward to:
Fianium (booth 8132) will demonstrate its recently announced supercontinuum fiber lasers, the first to use the company's new proprietary high performance photonic crystal fiber (PCF) design, developed in partnership with the University of Bath (Bath, England). The technology promises key advantages over traditional supercontinuum techniques.
Michelson Diagnostics’ (booth 8731) will demo its prototype hand-held OCT probe, based on multi-beam technology. The company plans to launch “more than one variant” of the new probe later in 2009, including a dermal version (with X-Y scanning, to enable 3D mapping of skin lesions) and a version equipped with a rigid endoscope, suitable for oral applications. The company will apply for a CE mark for the product this spring, and then file an FDA 510(k) application.
Of course the larger Photonics West event (exhibits open Tuesday, January 27) will feature plenty of companies targeting bio-optics applications, too. For instance Cal Sensors (booth 6234) will introduce LIRA-5S, a lead selenide thermal imaging array that combines sensitivity in a wider wavelength range with integrated electronics. The device can be programmed for use in a wide variety of high-speed thermal imaging applications.
And Inno-Spec GmbH (booth 1801) will introduce a mid-infrared (MIR) compact line-array spectrometer with sensitivity in the 1-3 micron wavelength region that is less expensive than competing technologies.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
It's bad, but not all bad
Yes, it's bad out there. But it's not all bad.
Laser vision correction doesn't yet show signs of recovery; the eye-surgery market research firm Market Scope predicts the segment will finish 2008 with a 17% drop. And the aesthetics sector is similarly struggling: Candela reported revenues down 24.2% in its first fiscal quarter from $35.5 million in the comparable prior-year period; Cutera’s Q3 2008 results were well below management's guidance and the consensus estimates, and Syneron reported revenues for Q3 2008 of $28.5 million, down from $33.1 million in Q3 2007 (even though the company’s international sales rose 17% year over year).
Yes, it's bad out there. But it's not all bad.
Laser vision correction doesn't yet show signs of recovery; the eye-surgery market research firm Market Scope predicts the segment will finish 2008 with a 17% drop. And the aesthetics sector is similarly struggling: Candela reported revenues down 24.2% in its first fiscal quarter from $35.5 million in the comparable prior-year period; Cutera’s Q3 2008 results were well below management's guidance and the consensus estimates, and Syneron reported revenues for Q3 2008 of $28.5 million, down from $33.1 million in Q3 2007 (even though the company’s international sales rose 17% year over year).
But on the up side, aesthetic laser company Cynosure bucked the trend with 21% growth in Q3 revenues. More good news: Strategic Directions International notes that handheld and portable molecular spectroscopy should see “very strong growth for the foreseeable future." This week, cardiovascular OCT systems developer LightLab discussed a similarly positive outlook, while AngioDynamics, Inc., which this summer acquired Diomed, reported net sales for its fiscal second quarter were up 17% over the $41.5 million reported in Q2 a year ago.
The January issue of Laser Focus World quotes Phil Crowley of MarketTech, a laser distribution, sales, and service company, as saying, “With a vast majority of our laser business in biotech, we haven’t seen a slowdown yet.” He said he is “encouraged that higher power levels, broader wavelength range offerings, smaller packages, and price reductions can result in further penetration of lasers into many biomedical instruments for DNA sequencing and disease analysis, flow cytometry, and microscopy.”
Laser vision correction doesn't yet show signs of recovery; the eye-surgery market research firm Market Scope predicts the segment will finish 2008 with a 17% drop. And the aesthetics sector is similarly struggling: Candela reported revenues down 24.2% in its first fiscal quarter from $35.5 million in the comparable prior-year period; Cutera’s Q3 2008 results were well below management's guidance and the consensus estimates, and Syneron reported revenues for Q3 2008 of $28.5 million, down from $33.1 million in Q3 2007 (even though the company’s international sales rose 17% year over year).
Yes, it's bad out there. But it's not all bad.
Laser vision correction doesn't yet show signs of recovery; the eye-surgery market research firm Market Scope predicts the segment will finish 2008 with a 17% drop. And the aesthetics sector is similarly struggling: Candela reported revenues down 24.2% in its first fiscal quarter from $35.5 million in the comparable prior-year period; Cutera’s Q3 2008 results were well below management's guidance and the consensus estimates, and Syneron reported revenues for Q3 2008 of $28.5 million, down from $33.1 million in Q3 2007 (even though the company’s international sales rose 17% year over year).
But on the up side, aesthetic laser company Cynosure bucked the trend with 21% growth in Q3 revenues. More good news: Strategic Directions International notes that handheld and portable molecular spectroscopy should see “very strong growth for the foreseeable future." This week, cardiovascular OCT systems developer LightLab discussed a similarly positive outlook, while AngioDynamics, Inc., which this summer acquired Diomed, reported net sales for its fiscal second quarter were up 17% over the $41.5 million reported in Q2 a year ago.
The January issue of Laser Focus World quotes Phil Crowley of MarketTech, a laser distribution, sales, and service company, as saying, “With a vast majority of our laser business in biotech, we haven’t seen a slowdown yet.” He said he is “encouraged that higher power levels, broader wavelength range offerings, smaller packages, and price reductions can result in further penetration of lasers into many biomedical instruments for DNA sequencing and disease analysis, flow cytometry, and microscopy.”
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