Monday, October 17, 2011

Drexler webcast looks at future of OCT

I'm excited that today (Monday, October 17) at 3 pm ET, Wolfgang Drexler, one of the scientists who pioneered optical coherence tomography (OCT) will deliver online his presentation that drew a standing room-only audience at the 2011 Laser World of Photonics event. Fasten your seatbelt--this is a fast-paced ride through the key technological and market developments that brought us to where we are today, and that portend the future of OCT and how it will likely impact medical imaging for a range of specialties.

Dr. Drexler is the Director of the Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University Vienna in Vienna, Austria.

Register now for the webcast so that even if you can't make it to the live event, you'll receive a link to the archive once it is posted: click here.

According to the report "Optical Coherence Tomography 2010: Technology, Applications, and Markets" by Strategies Unlimited, the global market for OCT grew from less than $10 million in 2001 to more than $275 million in 2009. By 2012 the market is expected to reach nearly $800 million.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Biomedical keynotes highlight top growth areas at Laser World of Photonics 2011

Laser World of Photonics 2011 definitely seemed larger than the 2009 event--and the final tally confirmed that indeed it was. The top two growth areas were medical technology and biophotonics, according to Messe Muenchen GmbH; this year’s conference and exhibition attracted not only 8% more visitors (for a total of 27,500) but also a record number of exhibitors (1100).

The event celebrated the 20th anniversary of optical coherence tomography (OCT) with a CLEO Europe and European Conference on Biomedical Optics (ECBO) co-sponsored technology and applications tutorial by OCT pioneer Jim Fujimoto. The MIT professor drew a standing-room-only crowd; so did the two ECBO plenary talks. One, by another OCT powerhouse, Wolfgang Drexler of the Medical University of Wein (Austria), whisked audience members through OCT history highlights, and painted an enthusiastic picture of future technology and market development.

The other ECBO plenary featured Prof. Mary-Ann Mycek of the University of Michigan (USA) discussing an optical spectroscopy technique that offers exciting promise for early detection of pancreatic cancer.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Ready for Laser World of Photonics 2011

Laser World of Photonics Congress, a biennial event, starts on May 23rd in Munich, Germany, and I'll be reporting from the show. A major focus of this huge expo and conference is biophotonics, as I discovered when I attended in 2009. One thing I enjoyed during that visit was the series of application panels in the exhibit hall that were offered in addition to the conference. Laser World of Photonics will offer these panels again this year, bringing technology developers together with clinicians for exploration of real needs that technology can help address. The life sciences panels will cover the application of biophotonics in four general areas:

+ Lasers for Analytical Bioinstrumentation and Bioimaging
+ Diagnostics and Therapy in Medicine
+ Visions for Future Diagnostics—Oncology
+ Visions for Future Diagnostics—Infectious Diseases

A number of exciting announcements emerged from the 2009 Laser World of Photonics Congress, including scientific CMOS (sCMOS), which has since hit the market in the form of cameras from Andor, Cooke, and Hamamatsu. Stay tuned to BioOptics World for news from the 2011 event!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Previewed at BiOS '11-Part 2

Among the products previewed in the BiOS 2011 exhibits was Oxxius’s 588 nm laser, which provides up to 50 mW of power. This is an upcoming addition to the company’s LaserBoxx laser diode product line that offers wavelengths from the ultraviolet (375 nm) all the way up to 785 nm, and is targeted to biotechnology applications.

Oxxius said that its SLIM DPSS laser line (already released) was getting a lot of attention from BiOS attendees; in particular, the 553 nm wavelength model, with up to 200 mW of power, which the company says is unique in the market. The SLIM light sources are offered in various versions: a plug-and-play version, an OEM version (for system integration), a CDRH-compliant version (for academic users), and "low noise" and "single longitudinal mode" versions.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Webcast provides great OCT update and overview

What will be the next successful commercial application of optical coherence tomography (OCT)? "I expect it will be GI (gastrointestinal) or perhaps pulmonary" imaging, says Greg Smolka, author of the research report Optical Coherence Tomography 2010: Technology, Applications, and Markets.

In a webcast today, Smolka talked about signs to look for to determine which application is really gaining traction. He also recapped some recent progress in technology (e.g., combining OCT with other imaging modalities) and markets/applications (the FDA approved OCT for 3 additional specialty applications in 2010-and more approvals are coming).

Listening to Smolka's presentation, I was reminded how truly important OCT is--how its speed and resolution empower medical clinicians in critical ways. And though it's made an enormous impact in ophthalmology already, its true utility has yet to be understood. Get ready for a fascinating ride.

Those registered for the event can get a 20% discount on a report ordered within 2 weeks of today's broadcast (courtesy of Strategies Unlimited). The full presentation itself will be posted within 24 hours.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Previewed at BiOS ’11--Part 1

During BiOS/Photonics West 2011, I got to see a number of newly released products (see recent new product postings and stay tuned for later blog entries)--and to preview products not yet available.

During BiOS/Photonics West 2011, I got to see a number of newly released products (see recent new product postings and stay tuned for later blog entries)--and to preview products not yet available.

For instance, I learned about the latest version of Imagine Eyes’s rtx1 Adaptive Optics Retinal Camera, for which they had just received the first orders. The first device of its kind as far as I know, it features automated adaptive optics and captures en face cellular-level images of the retina in vivo without pupil dilation. It reportedly can discern things that optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) cannot, and produces 1200 x 1200 micron images that can be tiled together to view larger areas. Imagine Eyes is now marketing to researchers, and expects FDA approval in about a year. Meantime the company is building a morphological image database and gathering feedback from clinical partners including France’s national ophthalmic center.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Report from Biomedical Optics Symposium (BiOS)/Photonics West--Part 2

Even though it most definitely exists, “the cost benefit of most clinical biophotonics technology is not well documented,” said Brian C. Wilson (Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto) in his informative presentation during Monday's Lasers and Photonics Marketplace Seminar.

Even though it most definitely exists, “the cost benefit of most clinical biophotonics technology is not well documented,” said Brian C. Wilson (Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto) in his informative presentation during Monday's Lasers and Photonics Marketplace Seminar.

On Tuesday, two plenary sessions took place: Frances S. Ligler, the Navy’s Senior Scientist for Biosensors and Biomaterials and current Chair of the Bioengineering Section of the National Academy of Engineering, presented a Perspective on the Future of Optical Biosensors. And Harold G. Craighead, Director of the Nanobiotechnology Center at Cornell University, explored the use of nanostructures for biological research.