The need for compact, multifunctional sensing platforms with selective identification capabilities is rapidly increasing across various sectors, from Point-of-Care (PoC) diagnostics to environmental surveillance & industrial process control. Photonic sensor technologies stand out for their precision, scalability, versatility, and non-destructive capabilities.
Combining different sensing modalities, within the same hardware or digital platform, faster, more accurate, and resource-efficient sensing can be achieved. These hybrid systems reduce complexity & cost while increasing reliability in real world conditions. Data fusion from complementary modalities augmented by ML enables richer and more actionable outputs. Different sensing modalities providing information, such as vibrational modes or morphological properties, with varying resolution & speed, offer a more complete picture. Multi-scale imaging enables analysis from subcellular to macroscopic structures, vital in tissue diagnostics, microplastic detection, or materials inspection. Broadband spectral coverage further enhances versatility, specificity, and the ability to distinguish closely related compounds. There are though challenges to overcome.
PHOTOMIX addresses these challenges by developing a unique, multimodal, multiscale, broadband, hyperspectral imaging platform integrating:
a) a miniaturised infrared spectrometer,
b) a low-cost portable Raman imaging sensor, and a novel high-speed stimulated Raman imaging sensor,
c) visible imaging,
d) photothermal spectroscopy.
These modalities will be combined to cover the needs of three use cases:
a) Healthcare - Head & neck cancer diagnostics,
Development of a low-cost, portable dual-mode system to provide in-vivo, fast-screening of suspected patients, assessing objectively the stage and grade of the disease
b) Environmental monitoring - Microplastics identification & classification in drinking water,
Development of a low-cost, portable system to accurately detect and classify microplastics present in the drinking water samples, retrieving information about the micro-plastics physical and chemical properties.
c) Industrial sustainability- Testing polymer biodegradation in aquatic environments.
Development of a system, integrating the aforementioned modules to study the polymer biodegradation processes taking place in a laboratory environment, aiming to optimize the development of biodegradable polymers.
The project is being coordinated by CyRIC, Cyprus Research and Innovation Center Ltd, in the framework of EU’s Horizon Europe Programme. The project was launched on 1st June 2026 and will run for forty-two months.
Project partners include:
CyRIC - CY.R.I.C CYPRUS RESEARCH AND INNOVATION CENTER LTD (Cyprus), SIWARE - SI-WARE-SYSTEMS (France), IZONICS - IZONICS SAS (France), CRI - CAMBRIDGE RAMAN IMAGING SRL (Italy), UGE - UNIVERSITE GUSTAVE EIFFEL (France), IPHT - LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUER PHOTONISCHE TECHNOLOGIEN E.V. (Germany), TUW - TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIEN (Austria), UPATRAS - PANEPISTIMIO PATRON (Greece), VIVID - VIVID COMPONENTS GERMANY UG (Germany), POLIMI - POLITECNICO DI MILANO (Italy), JUH - UNIVERSITATSKLINIKUM JENA (Germany) and UNIVIE - UNIVERSITAT WIEN (Austria)
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or of the granting authority (European Health and Digital Executive Agency – HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
