Photonic Incubator

UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic is committed to the dissemination of technologies through commercialization. In 1999, the Photonic Incubator at UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic was opened as one of the first incubators in the UC system. As part of the Institute’s expansion, the Photonic Incubator houses several start-up companies that collaborate with UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic faculty in the development of light-based medical devices.

UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic Spin-out, Incubating and Collaborative Companies

BitByte Dental Innovations, LLC (since 2017)
BitByte Dental Innovations, LLC develops clinical devices and instruments to improve dental practice and outcomes.

Cactus Medical, LLC (since 2019)
Cactus Medical, LLC is creating a new otoscope system to improve the diagnosis of otitis media (ear infection) on the front line of care. Approximately 90 percent of children will have at least one ear infection before kindergarten. At roughly 30 million annual office visits, suspected ear infections are the second most common reason children are seen by a pediatrician. Despite the frequency of cases, subjective reporting puts diagnostic certainty in primary care at approximately 60 percent. This makes otitis media the most common cause of unnecessary antibiotic use in children and the leading surgical indication in pediatrics. Cactus Medical’s revolutionary Optical Tympanometry technology is 98 percent accurate and works through ear wax.

eLysis, Inc. (since 2020)
eLysis, Inc. was established to commercialize the Electrochemical Lysis of Fat (ELF) technology. The ELF is an innovative, minimally invasive method of reducing fat for high precision facial and body contouring.

Hamamatsu Photonics KK (Photonics Management Corporation) (since 2019)
Hamamatsu Photonics KK is a world leader in photonics, producing a variety of detectors, image sensors, lasers and lamps. Hamamatsu also produces end-user products, such as scientific complementary metal oxide semiconductor (sCMOS) cameras, digital slide scanners for pathology and back-end semiconductor failure analysis systems. Their products cover the electromagnetic spectrum from the X-ray to the terahertz. Energetic, a Hamamatsu Photonics’ subsidiary, manufactures and markets extreme ultraviolet light sources and high brightness lasers. Hamamatsu Ventures USA (HV) invests in early stage companies that are developing the next generation of photonic technologies. In addition, HV sponsors research at the Institute and provides,long-term loans of investigational devices and research equipment.

Incipian, LLC (since 2014)
Incipian, LLC is a medical research and development laboratory focused on creating energy-based medical therapeutics through collaborative studies with academic and industrial partners.

InfraDerm, LLC (since 2017)
InfraDerm, LLC is a start-up company cofounded by Drs. Mihaela Balu, Associate Researcher at the Institute; Bruce Tromberg, former Institute Director, and Christopher Zachary, former Chair of the UCI Department of Dermatology. With Principal Investigator Dr. Balu, InfraDerm is a spin-out company from the Institute’s Nonlinear Optical Microscopy (NLOM) laboratory. InfraDerm recently developed the first bedside imaging platform based on multiphoton microscopy that is highly optimized for rapid, label-free clinical skin imaging.  Potential applications include improving clinical diagnosis, particularly of skin cancers; guiding effective treatment and advancing clinical and cosmetic/pharmaceutical research by providing access to dynamic cellular and molecular processes during therapy.

Laser Associated Sciences, Inc. (since 2015)
Laser Associated Sciences, Inc. (LAS) creates light-based technology to measure peripheral blood flow and improve vascular care. In March 2020, Medtronic acquired LAS and the company’s FlowMet technology. The technology is a noninvasive blood flow monitor designed to give real-time feedback regarding treatment efficacy during vascular surgery. Since the acquisition, the team has been working diligently to launch an adhesive-based version of their sensor that affixes to the toe like a medical bandage. A single-use FlowMet sensor is located inside the bandage. During the summer of 2021, the sensor was FDA-cleared and commercially launched. The team conducts clinical trials using the FlowMet device to investigate how the technology can best guide physicians during interventional procedures and predict treatment outcomes for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients.

Lumitron Technologies, Inc. (since  2017)
Lumitron Technologies, Inc. (Lumitron), an emerging company transplant to UCI and the Institute from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, uses laser-Compton scattering to create tunable, monochromatic pencil-beam X-rays over a wide range of energies from 10 keV to several MeV. Lumitron sources have the potential for use in a wide range of medical, industrial and security applications. Potential medical applications include compression-free mammograms at one-100th the dose of existing technology, as well as selective cancer detection and treatment at the cellular level without patient movement. Additional medical diagnostics include low-dose imaging of pancreatic, colorectal, glioblastoma and lung cancers and precision imaging of coronary disease. The technology can empower – for the first time – the correlation between various metals (Fe, Cu, Cd, Pb, et al.) and neurological and other related diseases. In basic science, it will allow for molecular analysis studies using X-ray fluorescence, nuclear resonance fluorescence and phase contrast imaging. Lumitron’s imaging system represents a landmark achievement in X-ray technology and the first fundamental change in how clinical and industrial X-rays are produced in over 125 years.

Modulim (since 2006)
Modulim delivers transformative optical solutions that help people live healthier, longer lives. The Clarifi Imaging System, powered by Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (SFDI) technology, helps physicians identify compromised circulation at the point of care through non-contact rapid microvascular assessment of tissue. Physicians and healthcare systems are empowered by SFDI images to make proactive, data-driven decisions in a multidisciplinary care setting to reduce lower limb complications caused by diabetes, kidney disease and peripheral arterial disease. Founded by Institute alumnus David Cuccia, Modulim is based in Irvine with a team dedicated to delivering powerful healthcare solutions that elevate and standardize health care delivery, while improving patient outcomes. In 2021, Modulim released a remote viewing capability to facilitate patient navigation through multidisciplinary care. In September 2021, Modulim raised a strategic round of financing to support commercial growth in 2022 with a focus on customers managing high-risk patients in value-based care settings. A key commercial highlight included the launch of a limb assessment, management and preservation program at 20 dialysis clinics in partnership with the largest nephrology practice in California. In 2022, key activities include preliminary outcomes clinical data collection, commercial expansion and fundraising to accelerate growth in these markets.

Multiphoton Laser Technology, Inc. (since 2011)
Multiphoton Laser Technology, Inc. (MPLT) was established by Dr. Karsten Koenig, a former Institute postdoctoral fellow and CEO of JenLab GmbH located in Jena, Germany. MPTflex, a multiphoton tomography (MPT) device developed by MPLT, is based on ultrafast (femtosecond) laser technology. The device performs noninvasive, high-resolution label-free imaging of human skin. The technology is currently being used by an Institute research team in the UCI Dermatology Clinic to evaluate its potential for clinical skin imaging. Over the past year, the device was used to underscore the benefits and limitations of different imaging technologies for in vivo human skin imaging. The results of this study were presented in a manuscript recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

OCT Medical Imaging, Inc. (since 2008)
OCT Medical Imaging, Inc. is a medical device company that innovates and commercializes patented state-of-the-art, real-time, 3-D microendoscope technology for early detection, diagnosis and follow-up of vascular plaques and airway complications.

Praxis Biosciences, Inc. (since 2012)
Praxis Biosciences, Inc., commercializes innovative and practical diagnostic solutions for biomedical research and healthcare industries. Technologies include a portable, noninvasive light-based imaging device for rapid, low-cost detection of sinus infections in children and an app-based device for personalized testing and augmentation of hearing.

Radoptics, LLC (since 2015)
adoptics, LLC pursues the creation and commercialization of optical probes derived from biological materials for medical imaging and phototherapeutic applications.