FEMTOPLANE-DoP "FEMTOsecond fibre oscillator PLANar waveguide amplifiEr laser system to enable globally affordable cataract surgery - Development of Prototype"
Lead Participant:
NKT PHOTONICS LTD
Abstract
Cataract surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures, with nearly 24 million
procedures performed worldwide each year. Driven by an ageing population, the annual
market is growing and is forecast to exceed £1.6 Billion by 2019.
Introduced in 2010, Femtosecond laser cataract surgery (FLCS) is regarded to be the most
important advancement in technology, enabling procedures to be automated, reducing the
need for skilled surgeons and enabling perfect vision without the need for spectacles or
contact lenses.
FLCS is currently dependent on expensive, bulky and unreliable femtosecond laser systems
with price tags ranging from £300K to £370K. FLCS procedures are not supported by
national or private health services and have therefore only been available to the most-wealthy
patients.
FEMTOPLANE-DoP builds on a highly successful Innovate-UK collaborative R&D project
between Fianium and the University of Southampton where the project team proved the
concept of an innovative femtosecond laser architecture, demonstrating specifications far
exceeding those required for FLCS yet with potential to be ultra-compact, robust, air-cooled
and have low cost of build and ownership.
Within FEMTOPLANE-DoP, a fully integrated prototype femtosecond laser will be built and
qualified to FLCS specification requirements and will demonstrate up to 85% reduction in
price (volume target £30K) and 80% reduction in size compared to existing state-of-art FLCS
lasers.
The innovative laser system will be highly disruptive, leading to widespread penetration of
FLCS throughout the world and enabling patients in the poorest countries to benefit from the
highest-quality procedures.
Successful delivery of the prototype will be the first commercialisation step towards having a
medically qualified laser source in production within 3-4 years of project completion and a
20X return on investment by 2020.
procedures performed worldwide each year. Driven by an ageing population, the annual
market is growing and is forecast to exceed £1.6 Billion by 2019.
Introduced in 2010, Femtosecond laser cataract surgery (FLCS) is regarded to be the most
important advancement in technology, enabling procedures to be automated, reducing the
need for skilled surgeons and enabling perfect vision without the need for spectacles or
contact lenses.
FLCS is currently dependent on expensive, bulky and unreliable femtosecond laser systems
with price tags ranging from £300K to £370K. FLCS procedures are not supported by
national or private health services and have therefore only been available to the most-wealthy
patients.
FEMTOPLANE-DoP builds on a highly successful Innovate-UK collaborative R&D project
between Fianium and the University of Southampton where the project team proved the
concept of an innovative femtosecond laser architecture, demonstrating specifications far
exceeding those required for FLCS yet with potential to be ultra-compact, robust, air-cooled
and have low cost of build and ownership.
Within FEMTOPLANE-DoP, a fully integrated prototype femtosecond laser will be built and
qualified to FLCS specification requirements and will demonstrate up to 85% reduction in
price (volume target £30K) and 80% reduction in size compared to existing state-of-art FLCS
lasers.
The innovative laser system will be highly disruptive, leading to widespread penetration of
FLCS throughout the world and enabling patients in the poorest countries to benefit from the
highest-quality procedures.
Successful delivery of the prototype will be the first commercialisation step towards having a
medically qualified laser source in production within 3-4 years of project completion and a
20X return on investment by 2020.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
| NKT PHOTONICS LTD | £389,441 | £ 175,248 |
People |
ORCID iD |
| John Clowes (Project Manager) |