Biophotonics Shines at PWest

While the biophotonics community had the stage to itself during the BIOS portion of Photonics West, the technology was well represented at the Photonics West exhibition. A great many companies better known for their nonmedical products were showing products aimed at the biomedical area.

And the portion of some firms' involvement in the biophotonics field was surprising -- in some cases as much as 10 to 15 percent of sales. Indeed, the biomedical story was not contained only in the BIOS portion of Photonics West. Biophotonics appears to be poised to become an important segment of the overall photonics industry.

Just a few of those companies and products found on the exhibit floor at Photonics West:

Opnext of Japan, which introduced its HL7001/7002 MG laser diode designed for use in medical applications such as blood analysis and endoscopy. According to the company, the 705-nm diode laser permits smaller biomedical measuring devices while offering high output power, reliability and the low operating current required by medical applications.

Scotland-based Intense Ltd. announced its Power Pack 360, a fiber-coupled laser module, which is aimed at medical and display applications such as photodynamic therapy and medical imaging. The device provides up to 2.5 W at 630 nm from a 600-µm fiber. A turnkey system, it combines a forced-air heat sink and cooling fan, monitor photodiode, thermoelectric cooler and thermistor. According to the company, the system provides medical system developers with a turnkey package, which can reduce overall system cost.

Texas Instruments was displaying a device from one of its customers that employed its digital light processing (DLP) technology in an imaging system that directly illuminates veins and arteries. The company’s digital micromirrors -- such as the Discovery 4000 highlighted at the show -- will, TI says, provide developers with a tool to develop projection and spectroscopic applications across a broad spectrum of wavelengths.

Acceleware of Calgary, Alberta, presented its Accelerator, which it said can bring supercomputing to the desktop. The company cited uses of its product in research involving early detection of breast cancer and the development of implantable medical devices. -- Charley Troy

More Photonics West news: www.photonics.com/ie_pw_2008.aspx