Smart Holograms on target to launch new generation disease sensor this year
University of Cambridge spin-out Smart Holograms Ltd is pioneering novel interactive holograms which offer a radically different way of diagnosing and managing disease, according to a report in the latest issue of the Department of Trade and Industry's UK Watch magazine.
The first of the new generation sensors enabled by the technology will be launched later this year and the company has established partnerships that will take the technology into the chemical and petrochemical markets.
"Our technology is a fusion of holography with human diagnostics so for the first time holograms can be used to detect disease markers," CEO Frank Craig (pictured) told the magazine. "As holograms are inexpensive, easy to use, power free and adaptable they compare very favourably with other diagnostic systems."
Smart Holograms, headquartered in the Cambridge Science Park in the heart of the Cambridge high tech Cluster, is three years old. It has filed 30 patents based on initial work by the firm's co-founder Professor Chris Lowe, raised over £7m in venture capital, opened offices in the UK and US and been named as one of the ‘top 50 start-ups to watch’ UK businesses.
It has perfected a way of making holograms in a range of polymer films and engineering them to alter their wavelength, brightness, image or position in response to a range of physical, biological and chemical stimuli such as touch, a bioassay or a blood sample. A glucose-sensing hologram could be engineered to flash up the words "take insulin" for instance – without the blood-letting of conventional tests and with 50% greater accuracy, the magazine said.
Holograms in contact lenses
So diverse are the possible product formats for diabetes and other tests, that Smart has established partnerships to develop a number of concepts. These include integrating holograms into contact lenses which change colour in response to glucose found in tears.
Also in development are smart packaging solutions to prevent drug counterfeiting and pathogen sensors to test for infectious microbes. Even this summer’s milestones – the opening of a manufacturing facility and launch of the first products – will not slow the pace of work in the R&D department, UK Watch reported.
"We are starting to get into immunodiagnostics," Dr Craig said. "The technology can be tailored to work with antibodies so our holograms can also be used for pregnancy, blood and cancer tests."
"The diabetes self-testing and the immunodiagnostics markets are worth around £5bn and £10bn respectively. We believe our novel diagnostics are breakthrough products that will achieve significant market share," Dr Craig said.
26th April 2006
