2011 Marketplace Seminar presentation to highlight optical molecular imaging

Nashua, NH--The science of optical molecular imaging (OMI) will be among the presentations at the 2011 Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar (www.marketplaceseminar.com), to be held on January 24, 2011 in San Francisco in conjunction with SPIE's Photonics West. Dr. Shahram Hejazi, a venture partner at BioAdvance (Radner, PA), will present "Optical Molecular Imaging—Opportunities and Challenges." In the presentation, Hejazi will explain that even though OMI holds great promise in the fields of oncology, cardiology, and neurology as a diagnostic tool and a means to expedite the development of therapeutic compounds and disease treatments, it must overcome many commercial hurdles such as regulatory approvals and reimbursement before achieving widespread use in clinical applications. His presentation will cover technology trends and drivers, early commercial opportunities, and challenges facing OMI in the life sciences.

According to the Optical Molecular Imaging 2010 report from photonics market-research firm Strategies Unlimited, growth of OMI equipment sales is on track to reach $400 million in 2014 and nearly $1 billion by the end of the decade. "Optical molecular imaging is poised to move into clinical use as one of the key tools in personalized medicine, complementing established tools like CT and MRI," says Tom Hausken, analyst at Strategies Unlimited. "In-vivo molecular imaging is promises to be an attractive and cost-effective tool for monitoring disease progression and determining drug effectiveness. Recent advances in imaging agents will move the optical technique from the lab to clinical settings, but this growth hinges on several key factors," he adds.

In 2010, the laser markets rebounded strongly, with the global market for lasers estimated to reach $6.4 billion in sales in 2010--more or less erasing the effects of the 2008/2009 economic downturn. Laser Focus World Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher Steve Anderson will present a quantitative and qualitative overview of the 2010 laser markets during the Marketplace Seminar and will also discuss the prospects for 2011. And David Belforte, Editor-in-Chief of Industrial Laser Solutions, will provide a comprehensive look at the industrial laser markets. The 2011 Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar also features analysis of the solar/photovoltaic and semiconductor industries from SolarBuzz and Gartner analysts, as well as a keynote presentation from Fraunhofer ILT managing director Dr. Reinhart Poprawe covering the prospects and outlook for direct-diode materials processing.

Held in conjunction with SPIE's Photonics West, the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar is a one-day event that analyzes the business of photonics. Now in its 23rd year, the annual seminar provides photonics industry decision makers and stakeholders with market information and analysis, a look at emerging opportunities, and a forum for networking. The seminar provides a comprehensive market perspective that is unobtainable elsewhere, with market data segmented by applications and laser technology from three of the photonics industry's leading resources: Laser Focus World, which delivers global coverage of the entire photonics industry; Industrial Laser Solutions, a primary source of information on industrial laser materials processing; and Strategies Unlimited, a market research unit of PennWell. 

SOURCE: Laser Focus World and Strategies Unlimited