Daylight Solutions Inc of San Diego, CA, USA, which makes molecular detection and spectroscopic imaging systems based on mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) for scientific research, life science, industrial process control and defense applications, has been awarded supplemental funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Building on its existing Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, the additional funding will help to accelerate the transition of the firm’s mid-infrared hyperspectral imaging platform into commercial markets.
The award was granted through the NSF Small-Business ERC Collaborative Opportunity (SECO) program, which aims to facilitate the transition of NSF's technology investments in Engineering Research Centers (ERC) and in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects into commercial markets. Daylight is an Industrial Partner with the NSF-funded ERC for Mid-InfraRed Technologies for Health and the Environment (MIRTHE). In collaboration with Dr Rebekah Drezek at Rice University, the program will leverage the firm’s imaging technology, and apply it to new methods for detecting cancer.
“This supplemental award, coupled with Daylight’s own internal investments, demonstrates our commitment to working with leading researchers, so that together we enable breakthrough capabilities in life-science research,” says president Paul Larson. “Daylight’s mid-infrared imaging technology is an excellent platform from which to launch these capabilities,” he reckons.
