Rochester leads development of novel integrated photonic COVID-19 sensor

March 24, 2022

Prototype of a disposable integrated photonic chip t
(Photo courtesy of the Miller Lab / University of Rochester)

A consortium of nine industry, government, and academic partners, led by the University of Rochester, will develop the first integrated photonic sensors capable of detecting not only COVID-19 and its variants, but also other emerging viruses. The technology could even predict the severity of these and other infections.

“In two years, we want to have an advanced prototype that is ready for a company to fully commercialize,” says project director Benjamin Miller, a Dean’s Professor of Dermatology at Rochester with joint appointments in biomedical engineering, biochemistry and biophysics, optics, and materials science. “We want to have all the data ready to go so a company can pick this up and run with it.”