Key Takeaways

  • Siloton secured £8.4 million from Innovate UK to accelerate development of its handheld GiraffeOCT retinal imaging system
  • Clinical trials with Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital will evaluate the in-clinic device, while development of an at-home version continues

UK-baed medtech company Siloton secured an £8.4 million contract from Innovate UK to accelerate development and clinical evaluation of its handheld optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, GiraffeOCT.

The 2-year contract, awarded through Innovate UK's "Contracts for Innovation: Quantum Missions Primer" initiative, will support development of in-clinic and at-home versions of the device. Siloton estimates the funding could shorten its development timeline by up to 2 years.

GiraffeOCT is a binocular-style imaging system designed to make retinal disease detection and monitoring more accessible outside traditional hospital settings. The technology integrates optical components onto a photonic chip smaller than a £1 coin, potentially reducing the size, cost, and complexity associated with conventional OCT equipment.

As part of the project, Siloton will collaborate with Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital to conduct clinical trials of its in-clinic device. Patients across North East England and North Cumbria will have opportunities to access the technology during development.

York Health Economics Consortium will analyze trial data to refine estimates of potential cost savings for the National Health Service (NHS).

The investment comes amid substantial demand for ophthalmic services in England. According to figures cited by the company, ophthalmology accounted for approximately 9 million NHS outpatient attendances in 2023/24, while nearly 623,000 patients were awaiting appointments at the end of July 2026.

“Winning this Innovate UK contract allows us to accelerate the development of our systems, explore manufacturing and assembly in the UK, and help a groundbreaking new technology be adopted by the NHS more quickly,” said Alasdair Price, CEO of Siloton.

The funding will also support integration of Siloton's second-generation BlueJay photonic chip and expansion of its cloud platform. Separately, the company plans to pursue additional investment to advance CheetahOCT, a next-generation system designed to measure different retinal layers and broaden disease detection capabilities.