Partnering for Performance
We work side-by-side with our clients to solve their toughest problems.
These case studies show how collaboration and innovation come together to produce measurable outcomes.
Single-use Digital Imaging for Colonoscopy
Boston Scientific wanted to develop a single-use digital imaging system that would be cost competitive with conventional colonoscopy imaging. In the late 1990’s, they approached Optikos to design the entire electro-optical imaging chain for this type of product. Optikos recognized that the decreasing cost of high brightness LEDs, CMOS imagers, and plastic optical components would soon allow the type of extremely low-cost and high-quality digital imaging systems that this product would require. Through the development and prototype stage, we worked closely with our client and designed a patented CMOS imaging system with image quality comparable to conventional imaging systems that could be manufactured at a price point previously never thought possible. Optikos was responsible for the lens design, the digital...
Production Testing of Guidance Systems
Our defense client is a high volume manufacturer of defense electro-optical systems and wanted to develop a flexible test station that would provide an automated capability to test a variety of guidance systems with a broad range of performance requirements and a very unique physical configuration. Optikos designed, developed, and delivered an advanced, large scale, remotely operated production guidance system testing platform. The system included multiple load stations for high production throughput, a calibrated variable laser light source with over 9 decades of signal attenuation, and a high quality all-reflective collimator with signal and polarization uniformity of less than 10% throughout its 8″ test aperture. Using this test platform, the customer was able to achieve full-scale and automated testing of...
Lens Redesign and Alignment to Meet Specs
Our client brought a prototype anamorphic lens to our facility that did not satisfy its MTF specification. They had been to numerous optical facilities across the country and had been unable to improve its performance. Optikos reviewed the system requirements and the details of the optical and mechanical designs. The lens was then placed on an optical bench to allow for visual inspection of the imagery across the field. By noting subtle details relating to the size and symmetry of the star images across the field, and relating those asymmetries to the design and potential mechanical misalignments of the toroidal and cylindrical surfaces in the system, Optikos engineers iteratively shimmed the design into alignment, brought its performance into specification...
Programming Spectral Content in Microscopy
Our client required a microscopy system with the unique capability of programming the spectral content of the illumination. The primary application for this instrument was research and development of diseased tissue pathology. Optikos invented a high-speed, electronically programmable light engine to provide illumination for the microscopy system. The spectrum could be tailored to any shape across the 400nm to 700nm waveband with 10nm resolution. The light engine also included switchable optics to exactly match the field of view and numerical aperture of the imaging objectives used with the system. The prototypes delivered to the customer exceeded expectations and were immediately deployed into the field for developing this area of tissue pathology. The customer gained valuable intellectual property directly from the...
A Custom Solution for MWIR In-Situ Optical Testing
Our defense client produced Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) infrared optical systems that required in-situ testing of the assemblies. This requirement called for delivery of an interferometric test beam into the large focal plane pod-mounted or fixture-mounted electro-optical system. A custom Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR) interferometer system was required since commercially available testing systems couldn’t meet the beam delivery requirements. The program required a quick development cycle to bring our customer’s production online. Optikos competed against other prominent optical metrology groups, and won this contract by proposing a custom-designed MWIR Twyman-Green interferometer with an elevated platform and an articulating optical arm with accessories optics. This created a nearly infinitely adjustable beam positioner. The entire system was floated on air bearings to...
