Compact Imaging Gains Patents for Diagnostic Optical Sensor Technologies

Mountain View, Calif.-based Compact Imaging Inc. (CI), which makes proprietary miniature optical sensors for the mobile personal health monitoring and fingerprint authentication markets, has been granted three additional patents in the field. The patents are for a hybrid OCT scanning device, non-invasive optical monitoring, and a field of light-based device.

CI’s intellectual property base, consisting of 14 U.S. patents and an equal number of pending U.S. and foreign applications, is centered on MRO, the company’s proprietary miniature version of optical coherence tomography (OCT). OCT is an established, non-invasive, non-ionizing imaging technology widely used in clinical diagnostic applications, according to CEO Don Bogue.

“Our miniature OCT architecture, MRO, can be implemented within the size, cost and power requirements of mobile and wearable devices,” he said. “These new patents further expand our [intellectual property] coverage of the space, providing partners and licensees robust protection for the investments they make in bringing products that incorporate MRO sensors to market. We continue to demonstrate the technical capabilities of the MRO system in human subject tests in a variety of consumer-oriented mobile health monitoring and fingerprint authentication applications. These new patents also will add to the understanding and credibility of our approach.”

The imaging technology that underlies CI’s MRO, optical coherence tomography, was first commercialized more than a decade ago. Conventional OCT machines, which cost $50,000-$150,000 each, revolutionized medical diagnostic imaging but are large, complex and power hungry—well-suited for clinical use but far from mobile. The MRO architecture is inherently miniature and MRO sensors will operate on battery power, making them ideal for integration in high volume consumer devices, such as smartphones and other devices used for personal health monitoring or requiring identity authentication.

CI also recently announced the extension of its collaboration agreement with the Tissue Optics and Microcirculation Imaging laboratories at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). CI and NUIG researchers are working together on the longer-term development and demonstration of MRO in an increasing range of non-invasive imaging and measurement applications involving both biological and non-biological targets.