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Medical applications

Saving lives

Nature Photonics volume 2, pages 150–152 (2008)Cite this article

Penetration of optical-fibre sensors into the medical market has been slow because of high costs and long regulatory procedures. Today, however, an increasing number of life-saving medical procedures are benefiting from the advantages that these tiny sensors can bring.

In medical applications, optical-fibre sensors offer many advantages over conventional sensors: they are small, immune from electromagnetic interference (EMI), have increased sensitivity and are very robust. But until recently, the medical community has not been able to benefit from these advantages, mainly because of the cost factor. Market penetration has been slow because optical-fibre sensors and their interrogation units are often quite expensive when compared with traditional sensors, in particular electrical sensors. As a result, optical-fibre sensors have so far been mostly confined to expensive medical devices (for instance in neurology or cardiology) where they have distinct advantages over traditional sensors.

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  1. FISO Technologies, 500-195 Avenue, St-Jean-Baptiste, G2E 5R9, Québec, Canada

    Éric Pinet

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  1. Éric Pinet
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Pinet, É. Saving lives. Nature Photon 2, 150–152 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2008.19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2008.19

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