Delivering impact - Cobalt Light Systems

It takes talent, vision, commitment and an inventive mind to see light at the end of a research tunnel and few people can predict the wider long-term outcomes and benefits.

Much research has wider potential than first planned, especially when different organisations collaborate – for example as happened in the case of a powerful laser light scattering technique called Raman spectroscopy.

Cancer care through innovation

Raman effect occurs when light is scattered from molecules and its wavelength is altered. The change produces a unique ‘signature’ specific to each chemical allowing accurate measurements of the chemical composition of objects. This established technique had been confined to probing surfaces of materials such as tissue and powders. However, research at STFC, also involving the University of Michigan and ICI PLC, provided fresh insight into the Raman process which in turn led to a new technique capable of probing deep into opaque materials for the first time – such as pharmaceutical drugs.

The research also produced eight patent filings and the successful spin-out company, Cobalt Light Systems Limited (CLS) - based at STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire. Since its creation in 2008, CLS has received an Institute of Engineering and Technology Innovation Award, secured £1 million in investment from both the pubIic and private sectors, and won four major contracts from academic, security, medical and pharmaceutical industries.

The long road to success

CLS couldn’t have done it alone. The journey from initial research funding, through innovation and getting products to market, took 12 years.

This long road to success began in 1997 after an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council project led by scientists at RAL to demonstrate the world’s first Raman Kerr gate – a fast optical device that opens to allow Raman-scattered light to pass through but closes to stop any unwanted fluorescence. The experiment was made possible by access to the Lasers for Science Facility at RAL.

The research attracted the attention of STFC Innovations Limited, STFC’s wholly-owned technology exploitation company. Research collaborations with industry and academic partners from the USA and UK produced further scientific advances, but possible medical applications for Raman spectroscopy were limited - the Kerr gate requires a high intensity laser making it unsuitable for human use. A seed was sown, however, for adapting this technology to diagnose bone disease.

In 2004, a new concept called Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS), was proposed. Led by RAL’s Professor Pavel Matousek and aided by cross-disciplinary research, this breakthrough paves the way for the development of safe diagnostic techniques and new quality control methods.

Investing in people

Funding from STFC, Nesta, the Rainbow Seed Fund, Oxford Technology ECF, Business Angel and Venture Capital enabled the transition from proof of concept to the creation of a spin-out company and the product itself. The journey reflects an enduring and successful collaboration between scientists, industry, research councils and funding bodies.

The investment also gave people the time needed to work through problems and the range of key players - from Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, the University of Bradford, Imperial College London, Pfizer, University College London, ICI PLC and the University of Michigan - added to the richness and diversity of the research.

The support provided by STFC help to ensure that the project maintained momentum and CLS’s first product launched in September 2009.

Science for security

The SORS technique is now being applied to other fields, including the security industry. Tests have shown that SORS can detect hidden hydrogen peroxide, which is used in homemade explosives by terrorists. A handheld laser probe, for example, could analyse liquids for suspect chemicals and produce results on the spot – even if concealed in a plastic cosmetics jar.

Contact

Pavel Matousek
STFC Fellow and Chief Scientific Officer of Cobalt Light Systems
Tel: +44 (0)1235 445 377
Email: pavel.matousek@stfc.ac.uk
Website: http://www.cobaltlight.com

For media enquiries please telephone: +44 (0)1925 603 232

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the Delivering impact - Cobalt Light Systems factsheet (PDF - 518kB) (link opens in a new window)

Version 01 - April 2010