Quantum technology depends on photons rather than electrons—which means light. The development of quantum technology therefore opens up new opportunities in imaging. The main opportunity is for higher resolution, deeper and faster imaging. However, this is not yet commercially available at single photon resolution in the infrared. The potential game-changer in this area would be to develop X-ray functionality with visual or IR light using high-time-resolution single photon detectors. This would be safe for eyes, and therefore lower risk than current imaging technology. We already have start-ups focusing on quantum microscopes and single-photon quantum radiology.
Contact – Researchers
Val Zwiller
Professor at Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. His interest lies at the intersection of quantum optics and nanoscience where fundamental questions meet technology. His team develops new systems to generate, manipulate and detect quantum states of light and proceeds to demonstrations. They are avid users of advanced nanofabrication techniques to develop our quantum devices and perform most of our measurements at cryogenic temperatures with custom-made equipment allowing for optical and electrical measurements at the single photon level. They have six experimental setups built around cryostats with various specificities such as magnetic fields, milli-Kelvin temperatures, optical fibre coupling and infrared wavelengths. They also operate a quantum communication link between their laboratory and Ericsson research labs, 16 km away. European projects represent an important part of their activities.
Erik Aurell
Per-Olof Berggren
Per-Olof Berggren, PhD, is a Professor and Head of Cell Biology and Experimental Endocrinology, at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Director of The Rolf Luft Research Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden since 1997.
Professor Berggren is a world leader in the field of pancreatic islet research. He has done pioneering work regarding the fundamental mechanisms regulating the stimulus-response coupling in the endocrine pancreas with several seminal contributions within the fields of insulin-secreting pancreatic β-cell Ca2+ handling, phosphorylated inositol compounds and insulin receptor-operated signalling. In addition to developing novel concepts within the field of β-cell stimulus-secretion coupling regulation, Professor Berggren’s research is characterized by a number of important methodological innovations. He recently developed an elegant and versatile in vivo experimental platform using the anterior chamber of the eye as a transplantation site and the cornea as a natural body window for imaging. This not only allows non-invasive and longitudinal studies of pancreatic β-cell function and survival at single-cell resolution but may also have clinical implications for the treatment of diabetes