Nottingham University spin-out advances optical fibre sensing for healthcare

Medical Photonics focuses on smart technologies to improve healthcare. 

It has been founded by Professors Steve Morgan, Barrie Hayes-Gill, and Serhiy Korposh, and Doctors Ricardo Correia and Brett Gadsby from the Faculty of Engineering, alongside external chairperson David Whelan and clinician Doctor Andrew Norris.

The spin-out will look at using fibre optic sensors with strands of glass or plastic – thinner than a hair – to measure a range of useful medical signals. The technology can be used to monitor the oxygen content of the blood non-invasively, for example.

The small size and versatility of the sensors means that they can be easily integrated into a range of existing medical devices, transforming basic medical devices into smart monitoring technologies, says the team.

The provision of clinical data, coupled with algorithms using AI, has the potential to benefit many of today’s healthcare challenges related to chronic diseases and an ageing population.

The Medical Photonics team will work closely with the University of Nottingham and its clinical collaborators to support commercialisation of optical fibre sensing technologies for widespread benefit. 

Steve Morgan, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Nottingham, and Medical Photonics CEO, said of the launch of the spin-out: 'Our approach provides clinicians with a rich dataset that cannot be obtained with other technologies.'