Insider Brief
- UCL researchers are partnering with Bristol-based Siloton to adapt its quantum-enabled OCT eye-imaging system for use by children with potentially sight-threatening conditions.
- The NIHR-funded project will modify Siloton’s compact Akepa device for paediatric use, including adjustments to its lenses and physical design.
- The project aims to support eye monitoring in community or home settings, potentially reducing hospital visits while enabling clinicians to assess children remotely.
PRESS RELEASE — Researchers at the University College London (UCL) Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health are teaming up with Bristol-based start-up Siloton on a project that could help prevent sight loss in children by adapting a groundbreaking new eye imaging technology.
With funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health has secured one of Siloton’s pioneering optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems, which will be modified for use by children.
OCT is a safe imaging method that uses light to create detailed pictures of the inside of the eye, helping clinicians identify a range of health conditions and monitor their progress. However, its use is limited because existing systems are large, expensive, and typically only available in hospitals and optometry centres.
Through the project, Professor Ameenat Lola Solebo and Professor Marinko Sarunic, both from UCL, will co-develop a new version of the compact, quantum-enabled anterior segment OCT device with Siloton, allowing children with potentially blinding disorders to be monitored in the community or even from home.
Lola Solebo, Professor at UCL and Consultant Ophthalmologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said: “The work we have done at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and at Great Ormond Street Hospital has shown how transformational imaging can be, improving patient outcomes, and patient and family experience. We want to bring this life-changing technology into children’s homes.”
Siloton’s Akepa device compresses a tabletop-worth of heavy, expensive, and fragile components onto a single chip smaller than a £1 coin. It has been designed to work as part of an easy-to-use, binocular-style system that makes the diagnosis and monitoring of a range of treatable retinal diseases more affordable and accessible. A first cohort of adult patients successfully trialled the technology last year.
The project will see the OCT system adapted physically and interactively so it can be used by children. The device’s lenses will be tuned to focus on the right place within children’s eyes, while the casing will be better shaped to their faces to prevent light from affecting the imaging process.
Alasdair Price, co-founder and CEO of Siloton, said: “Until now, our patient focus groups have largely involved adults, because age-related macular degeneration – the leading cause of sight loss in the UK – predominantly affects older people. But the fundamental principles of imaging the eye are the same, and with the right adaptations, Akepa can work just as effectively for children.
“Imaging children’s eyes presents different challenges, but the chip-based system we’ve developed could make it easier to capture high-quality images quickly and comfortably. Many of the pressures adults face apply to children too: getting to hospital, missing school, and needing appointments to be as smooth as possible. By making it possible to image outside a hospital environment, our system could reduce disruption for families and free up clinicians to spend more time on care.
“Children can experience a wide range of eye conditions – from diabetes‑related issues to inherited diseases and even signs of brain tumours that first appear in the optic disc. By looking at ways to adapt Akepa to paediatric clinical practice now, the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital is paving the way for a future where children can benefit from faster imaging, better monitoring, and remote assessment.”
Professor Mike Lewis, NIHR Scientific Director for Innovation, said: “NIHR funding is helping researchers and industry partners work together to develop innovative technologies like this. If we can bring this kind of advanced eye imaging into community and home settings, we could make a real difference to children and their families, reducing the need for hospital visits while enabling clinicians to monitor patients more closely. We are continuing to support Siloton as it develops this technology, building on our investment in the quantum research ecosystem.”
The Siloton eye-imaging technology was developed with backing from Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, helping turn a research-stage idea into a clinical device capable of detecting sight-threatening eye conditions earlier.
