CONTENTS & LEADER
Electro Optics
Contents Skills shortage
4
Lydia Sanmartí-Vila, Silvia Tognetti, Federica Beduini and Silvia Carrasco, from the EU-funded Carla project, discuss ways to solve the photonics skills gap
Industry outlook 6
The photonics industry has shown resilience to the pandemic, Matthew Dale hears at Photonics West
Security and commercial sensing 8 Optical methods are helping defeat criminals seeking to hack biometric identification, finds Andy Extance
Sponsored: security sensing
Ocean Insight details a camera system designed to give better visibility for helicopters on rescue missions
Photonics West:
Optical diagnostics Successful clinical translation of optical diagnostics requires greater trust between developers and end-users, finds Jessica Rowbury
Sponsored: Optical 17
design software Optical design and analysis programs, such as TracePro, allow designers and engineers to design, analyse and optimise new biomedical systems in a virtual environment
14 13 Sponsored: Thermal
hyperspectral imaging Gemma Church explains how the Telops Hyper-Cam is unlocking thermal infrared hyperspectral imaging for everyone
Sponsored: Optical modelling 20
Tissue modelling is becoming more accessible for designing next-gen diagnostics, thanks to programs such as LightTools, finds Gemma Church
Epic news
Carlos Lee discusses how its board of directors is crucial to the success of Epic
Tech focus: Solar
Perovskite solar cell design delivers efficiencies to rival those made of silicon
Tech focus: Interferometry 28
Researchers have measured the gravitational field of a gold sphere just two millimetres in diameter
Products
The latest products from around the world Suppliers
Find the suppliers you need Entrepreneurship
30 31 33
Carlos Lee talks to Petr Tůma about the growth of Czech-based 4isp, including how it works with Chinese manufacturers
24 22 18
LEADER JESSICA ROWBURY
All-important light
The photonics sector is set to emerge relatively unscathed from the covid pandemic, attendees of the Photonics West virtual conference heard in March. This is largely thanks to photonics
manufacturing entities being classified as essential for national security, SPIE’s Stephen Anderson said during the event’s industry outlook session. Light-based technologies have also been essential in imaging, diagnosing and charactering covid-19. In 2019, the biomedical photonics sector grew by 13 per cent thanks to new diagnostics, SPIE’s analysis found, and the sector will no doubt have experienced strong growth in 2020. There is a real need for new optical-based
techniques for dealing with future pandemics, a panel of medical professionals said during a Photonics West covid-19 panel discussion. Not just in diagnostics, but in developing therapies. Currently, therapeutic development trelies on trial and error because scientists do not have adequate tools to visualise and understand lung pathology, The University of Edinburgh’s Kev Dhaliwal said. However, the pandemic has highlighted issues concerning trust between test manufacturers and doctors, and the way new devices are funded. These challenges that must be addressed to ensure successful clinical translation of new optical technologies, event attendees heard. Read our Photonics West coverage in more detail on pages 6 (industry outlook) and 8 (optical diagnostics).
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