British photonics startup Siloton has secured a £8.448 million Innovate UK contract to accelerate GiraffeOCT, its handheld optical-coherence-tomography system built around a photonic chip smaller than a £1 coin.
The two-year program will fund both in-clinic and at-home versions of the scanner plus clinical trials. UK Research and Innovation describes Siloton’s approach as moving conventional OCT hardware from large, fragile optical assemblies onto a quantum-photonic chip. Optics.org reports that Siloton believes the contract could shorten development by as much as two years.
The technology sits at the intersection of the photonics and quantum-hardware trends BitcoinVersus.Tech has been tracking through Top 7 Fiber-Optic Technologies in 2026, ORCA’s PT-3 photonic quantum computer, and Xiver’s DUV expansion for photonic chips.
Siloton demonstrates a handheld OCT prototype completing a self-scan in about 19 seconds.
The engineering goal is straightforward: shrink retinal imaging enough that it can move beyond specialist hospital equipment and into clinics, community settings and eventually homes. The current award does not mean GiraffeOCT is already a fully deployed consumer medical product; it funds the development and trial work needed to move closer to that stage.
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