Tornado Medical Systems And A*STAR's Institute Of Microelectronics Partner To Commercialise Nanospectrometers For Optical Coherence Tomography Applications

TORONTO and ITHACA, N.Y., and SINGAPORE, Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tornado Medical Systems is pleased to announce a partnership with the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore, to commercialize nanospectrometers for optical coherence tomography (OCT) applications. OCT is a technique for obtaining high-resolution sub-surface images of translucent or opaque materials based on light, rather than sound or radio frequency.

This collaboration brings together Tornado's industry-leading nanophotonics capabilities with IME's deep expertise in silicon photonics fabrication to provide the first commercial nanospectrometers for OCT applications. The commercial availability of small, robust, high performance on-chip spectrometers will meet the needs of the current OCT market and open up exciting new commercial opportunities for low-cost, high-performance OCT applications.

"This partnership builds on Tornado's deep experience with conventional OCT and nanophotonics to deliver an affordable, high performance and robust spectrometer optimized for OCT applications," said Stefan Larson, PhD, President and Chairman of Tornado Medical Systems. "This partnership, along with our recent announcement regarding the acquisition of the spectroscopy assets of Arjae Spectral, will streamline our commercialization efforts significantly and position us for an exciting 2013."

"Tornado's collaboration with IME will ensure that we have a robust commercial product for delivery to our customers in 2013," said Frederic Sweeney, PhD, Tornado's VP of Business Development & Strategic Alliances.

"The partnership demonstrates tremendous potential for IME's silicon photonics technology platform being applied beyond the traditional communications domain," said Prof. Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director of IME, "This collaboration also exemplifies our continuous commitment to help our partners to be successful in commercializing their innovation, and contribute to the growth of the silicon photonics industry. We are excited to be a partner of Tornado Medical Systems to realize their vision of delivering a compact OCT system that will revolutionize the marketplace."

About Institute of Microelectronics (IME)
The Institute of Microelectronics (IME) is a research institute of the Science and Engineering Research Council of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), which is well positioned to bridge the R&D between academia and industry. For more information about IME, please visit http://www.ime.a-star.edu.sg.

About Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is the lead agency for fostering world-class scientific research and talent for a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation-driven Singapore. A*STAR oversees 14 biomedical sciences, and physical sciences and engineering research institutes including seven consortia and centers. A*STAR supports Singapore's key economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry. For more information about A*STAR, please visit http://www.a-star.edu.sg.

About Tornado Medical Systems Inc.
Founded in 2010, Tornado Medical Systems develops optical spectroscopy solutions for sample identification, detection, diagnosis and imaging. With a proven partnership model, Tornado works with large OEMs to develop ground-breaking solutions for high-performance optical engines, both in free space spectroscopy and integrated photonics, or spectroscopy-on-chip. To learn more about Tornado, please visit http://www.tornado-medical.com.

Media Contact:                                                         

For IME:
Cindy Chew                           
DID: +65 6770 5375              
Email: [email protected]

For Tornado Medical Systems:
Frederic Sweeney, PhD
VP – Business Development & Strategic Alliances
Tel: 416.361.3444
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Tornado Medical Systems