Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I N O. V M A N U FA C T U R I N G I n 2020, Gray Optics saw a surge in demand from manufacturers of COVID-19 point-of-care tests. Founded in 2017, the Portland firm develops advanced imaging technologies and optical systems for biomedical, life sciences and industrial applications. With the pandemic, manufacturers of point-of-care tests, which provide disease detection and diagnosis within minutes, asked founder Daniel Gray and his team to design custom optical systems that are an integral part of the tests. e challenge? Many rapid tests rely on fluorescence detection using a lens that must be precisely aligned, with regard to specifications such as field-of-view and depth-of-field, to a digital image sensor. "e presence of COVID can be detected through fluorescence imaging: In simple terms, does the sample glow a specific color or not?" says Gray. e COVID sample goes through an assay, a process for analyzing a sample, that uses a mixture of chemicals and com- pounds that include fluorescence labels. "e result can be read by an optical system," he says. "e technology uses light sources, cameras and filters." Complex systems When it comes to manufacturing, optical systems don't typically come to mind. But companies in the imaging space deal with complex assemblies of components and ever-evolving innovations that put them on the forefront of the manufacturing sector. As with Gray's firm, the pandemic has highlighted the industry's essential role in manufactur- ing, not only in the medical field but also for life sci- ence, industrial and other markets. Gray Optics founder Dan Gray doubled his staff this year as demand surged for precision optical components used in COVID-19 tests. Ted McHenry, mechanical engineering team lead at Gray Optics, operates an endoscope alignment fixture. P H O T O S / T I M G R E E N WAY F O C U S M A R C H 8 , 2 0 2 1 16 Maine has a growing cluster of com- panies in the imaging space, although it remains a relatively small field. Typically, folks who are involved in visualization are called optical engineers; the compa- nies deal with the engineering aspects of light and bring together components such as lenses, illumination, camera sen- sors, software and electronics. "In its most basic form, optical imag- ing is the process of collecting light and recording and displaying that informa- tion in a way that's useful to humans," says Tom Snyder, CEO of Lighthouse Imaging in Windham. "In a sense, it can act as a remote eye to allow vision where it would not otherwise be possible." Optical imaging provides the abil- ity to capture and store images and video for later use. "A typical optical image system will utilize a series of lenses to focus an illuminated scene on an image sensor and create a digital representa- tion of that scene" — something as common as a picture on a computer monitor, Snyder says. Inside information Gray Optics supports medical, life sciences, 3D printing and industrial markets. In the medical space, that includes developing surgical robotic systems, retinal imaging, dental cam- eras — anything that uses a camera to take pictures of people. For life sci- ences, optical technologies are used for P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y L I G H T H O U S E I M A G I N G Seeing things Growing cluster of imaging manufacturers is integral to pandemic response B y l a u r i e s c H r e i B e r This imaging module, designed by Lighthouse, has lenses, image sensor, LED illumination and integrated electronics. It goes into a larger system to create a finished medical device.

• Cover