European scientists have developed a handheld scanner that can read your heart's vital signs like a supermarket barcode reader can scan items at the checkout, allowing a GP to diagnose even preclinical patients for the early onset of a disease.

  Light technologies provide tremendous potential for growth and innovation, as shown by two new studies by VDMA and Photonics21. Strong core areas, impressive growth rates far above the gross domestic product and high expenditures on research and development indicate successful outlooks up to the year 2020.

In a bid to make the world's first while-you-wait test for breast cancer, European scientists are developing a comfortable hemispherical bowl lined with laser sources and ultrasound detectors with the potential to reduce the stages in spotting the disease into a single appointment. Current breast cancer diagnosis can be distressing and painful over a number of weeks.

Amid growing concern about the discovery of cancer-causing chemicals in crisps and French fries, a young scientist has developed a new laser system that scans peeled potatoes in the factory to detect toxic compounds and prevent them from reaching the consumer. Earlier this year, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued warnings about eating over-fried potatoes, burnt toast and crisps that can contain cancer-causing chemicals such as acrylamide...

European scientists have employed new photonics technology in order to develop a new augmented reality surgical visor in a bid to improve accuracy of interventions, showing anaesthetic and medical data while superimposing a patient’s x-ray in perfect unison with their body, meaning surgeons never having to look away during an operation and surgery times reduced by over 20 minutes for every three hours.

With over 22 million X-rays being recorded in the NHS in England last year, they are a diagnostic test that most of us are familiar with. Scientists have often sought to reduce harmful ionising radiation, the high-energy particles that penetrate tissue to reveal internal organs and bone structures that can damage DNA, from single x-ray records or CT scans. Although this ionising radiation can be reduced, traditionally it has come at the expe...

A group of European scientists are developing a surveillance camera harnessing new photonics technology that will dramatically reduce coastal rescue times in low visibility conditions, target Greenhouse gasses and keep us safer on the Underground. The camera, measuring the size of a shoebox, uses Multi Spectral Imaging, a process that captures the same image at different frequencies from the electromagnetic spectrum.

Dubbed the ‘silent killer’, and more commonly known as ‘blood poisoning’, Sepsis is a whole-body inflammatory reaction that kills over 20,000 people per day worldwide, striking regardless of age, gender or fitness and killing more people than prostate cancer, breast cancer and HIV/AIDS combined. It is estimated that 44,000 people die every year from Sepsis in the UK alone.

European scientists have created a real-time, hand-held chemical sensor with stand-off detection capabilities that will increase airport safety, reduce car emissions and combat unnecessary food wastage. The device can scan from a distance of up to 30m and is capable of instantaneous, real-time, unambiguous detection. The device uses spectroscopic sensors, that read the unique frequencies, or ‘signatures’ given off when liquids or gass...

Taking their ideas from defence mechanisms found in plants such as the lotus leaf, the ‘high throughput laser texturing of self-cleaning and antibacterial surfaces’, or ‘TresClean’ project, has made a breakthrough that will enable the production of self-cleaning sheet metal on an industrial scale for the first time.

A European group of scientists are working on the development of a breakthrough, compact, cost-effective retinal scanner that will play a key role in targeting the early diagnosis of retinal diseases that are worldwide leading causes of blindness. Funded by the Photonics PPP platform, OCTChip is set to revolutionise diagnosis of retinal diseases and prevent millions of cases of blindness.