Innovative Scientific Solutions

What Innovative Scientific Solutions does

Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated (ISSI) is a private engineering research and development company founded in 1995 and headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. The firm designs, manufactures, and sells optical measurement and instrumentation systems used in fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, and combustion analysis. Primary customers are US federal agencies (Department of Defense, US Navy, NASA, National Institutes of Health), US defense contractors, and academic research laboratories worldwide, with secondary demand from biomedical and biomechanics researchers.

The company's product portfolio centers on luminescent paint and optical sensing technologies, including Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP), Temperature Sensitive Paint (TSP), Surface Stress Sensitive Film (S3F) for shear stress measurement, Particle Shadow Velocimetry (PSV), and Planar Doppler Velocimetry (PDV). Supporting hardware comprises high-intensity LED light sources, scientific CCD cameras, the PSG-3 pulse/delay generator, motorized and Canon/Sigma/Tamron EF lens controllers, and molecular iodine frequency reference cells. Proprietary software (ProAcquire, OMS-Lite, OMS Professional) is bundled with hardware for data acquisition and processing. ISSI also operates the Nuclear Survivability Center of Excellence, a wholly owned Nuclear Division providing nuclear hardening, threat analysis, radiation effects testing, and battle management software for US Department of War, Department of Energy, and Five Eyes partners.

Revenue is generated through direct hardware sales, turnkey packaged PSP/TSP systems, bundled software licenses, and professional services, with pricing conducted on a quote basis. The company sells primarily through direct sales in the US and via six regional distributors in Europe, China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Turkey. With 51-100 employees, no outside funding rounds, and 30+ years of continuous operation, ISSI operates as a self-sustaining, privately held specialist defense and scientific instrumentation firm.

Name

Innovative Scientific Solutions

Legal name

Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc.

Website

https://innssi.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Innovative Scientific Solutions (ISSI) is a private engineering R&D firm founded in 1995 that designs optical measurement and instrumentation systems, including pressure and temperature sensitive paints, for US defense agencies, government research labs, and academic institutions worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Test and Measurement Instrumentation

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Analytical Instrumentation (Gas analyzers, spectroscopy, pH/ORP, conductivity) (IMAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Machine Vision & Inspection Lighting (Ring lights, bar lights, backlights, strobed illumination) (IMAGAIAG), Reliability, Safety & Risk Engineering (RAMS/PSM) Consulting (BPAHAIAK)

Keywords

• Optical measurement instruments
• Pressure sensitive paint
• Temperature sensitive paint
• Aerospace test instrumentation
• Wind tunnel measurement systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Dayton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Scientific Instrumentation Products: ISSI generates revenue through the sale of scientific measurement and instrumentation products including PSP/TSP systems, S3F sensors, LED light sources, CCD cameras, pulse generators, lens controllers, and molecular iodine cells. Products are sold directly to government agencies, defense contractors, academic institutions, and industrial research facilities.
2. Packaged PSP/TSP Systems: Complete turnkey systems including Educational PSP/TSP Systems and Standard Systems with cameras, LEDs, controllers, and software. Sold as bundled packages with multiple components.
3. Software Licenses: Proprietary software including OMS-Lite, OMS Professional, and ProAcquire for data acquisition and processing. Software is bundled with hardware systems.
4. Defense Research Services: Nuclear division provides engineering services to US Department of War, Department of Energy, and Five Eyes partners including threat analysis, survivability assessment, and radiation testing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ISSI designs, manufactures, and sells optical measurement and instrumentation products for fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, and combustion research. The portfolio centers on Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP), Temperature Sensitive Paint (TSP), Surface Stress Sensitive Film (S3F), Particle Shadow Velocimetry (PSV), and Planar Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) systems, supported by proprietary LED sources, scientific CCD cameras, pulse/delay generators, lens controllers, molecular iodine cells, calibration systems, and data acquisition/processing software. The company also operates a Nuclear Survivability Center of Excellence providing engineering services to the US Department of War, Department of Energy, and Five Eyes partners.

Product overview

Innovative Scientific Solutions (ISSI) is an engineering research and development company providing a comprehensive portfolio of optical measurement and instrumentation solutions for fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, and combustion analysis applications. The product portfolio centers on Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) and Temperature Sensitive Paint (TSP) technologies as core products, complemented by Surface Stress Sensitive Film (S3F) for shear stress measurement, Particle Shadow Velocimetry (PSV), and Planar Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) systems. Supporting hardware includes High-Intensity LED light sources (2-inch and 4-inch air-cooled, water-cooled, RGB, and Schlieren variants), Scientific CCD Cameras, PSG-3 Pulse/Delay Generators, Molecular Iodine Cells, Calibration Systems, and comprehensive Lens Control systems for Canon, Sigma, and Tamron EF lenses. Software offerings include ProAcquire for data acquisition and OMS-Lite/OMS Professional for post-processing. The company also operates a Nuclear Division providing survivability engineering services. Products are available as individual components, accessories, or as integrated packaged systems including turnkey Educational PSP/TSP Systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nuclear Survivability Center of Excellence: A division of ISSI providing nuclear survivability engineering solutions, threat analysis, radiation effects testing, and development flight testing for US Department of War, Department of Energy, and Five Eyes partners.

Products and services

• Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) Systems Optical pressure measurement technology using luminescent paint coatings that provide full-field surface pressure measurements with high spatial resolution for wind tunnel testing applications. Sold to government labs, defense contractors, and aerospace research facilities.
• Temperature Sensitive Paint (TSP) Systems Non-intrusive temperature measurement technology using luminescent paint coatings for heat transfer, boundary layer transition detection, and surface thermal mapping.
• Surface Stress Sensitive Film (S3F) Systems Optical shear stress and pressure measurement system using elastic film that deforms under applied loads, monitored through imaging and finite element analysis to produce continuous distributions of skin friction and pressure.
• Particle Shadow Velocimetry (PSV) Systems Velocity measurement technique using low-power pulsed LED light sources to measure seed particle displacement in flows, providing a lower-cost, eye-safe alternative to laser-based PIV for fluid dynamics research.
• Planar Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) Systems Image-based three-component velocity measurement technique using Doppler shift of light scattered by seed particles with molecular iodine absorption filters as frequency references.
• High-Intensity LED Light Sources Modular LED illumination systems for PSP/TSP, PSV, PDV, and Schlieren/Shadowgraph measurements including 2-inch and 4-inch air-cooled, water-cooled, RGB, and Schlieren variants.
• Scientific CCD Camera (PSP-CCD) 2-megapixel CCD camera with Gigabit Ethernet connectivity available in color and monochrome versions for PSP/TSP/PSV data acquisition.
• PSG-3 Pulse/Delay Generator Four-channel digital pulse/delay generator for experiment timing control with Ethernet/USB connectivity, 50 MHz maximum trigger rate, and 20 ns delay resolution.
• EF Lens Controllers (LC-2, LC-1S, LC-PZA2, LCI-EF-232) Programmable motorized lens control systems for Canon, Sigma, and Tamron EF/EF-S autofocus lenses with Ethernet, RS-232, and I2C interfaces plus TCP/IP API support for Windows, Linux, and MacOS.
• Molecular Iodine Cells Frequency reference and discriminator cells for PDV and Filtered Rayleigh Scattering systems, available in permanently sealed (5-inch and 10-inch) and adjustable manifold-configurable versions.
• PSP/TSP Calibration System Multi-function calibration system for controlling gas mass-flow ratio and temperature within sealed calibration cells for PSP/TSP paint calibration.
• ProAcquire Data Acquisition Software Image acquisition software for PSP/TSP systems with integrated hardware control for ISSI cameras, LEDs, lens controllers, and pulse/delay generators; output stored as 12-bit .TIF compatible with ImageJ and Matlab.
• OMS-Lite and OMS Professional PSP/TSP Processing Software Proprietary GUI-based PSP/TSP data processing software for wind-off/wind-on image ratio calculation and pressure conversion, with OMS Professional adding ROI filters and 3D mesh bitmap resection for multi-camera experiments.
• Educational and Standard Packaged PSP/TSP Systems Complete turnkey PSP/TSP packages including Educational PSP/TSP Systems (CCD camera, LED array, pulse generator, starter kit, optical kit, OMS-Lite) and Standard Systems with cameras, LEDs, controllers, software, and calibration.
• FootSTEPS Gait Analysis System Shear stress sensor platform for high-resolution imaging of both shear and pressure across a human foot during gait for biomechanical research.
• Nuclear Survivability Center of Excellence (Engineering Services) Engineering services division providing physics-based mission planning, nuclear hardness and survivability analyses, radiation-hardened microelectronics testing, threat analysis, and AI/ML software for battle management to US Department of War, Department of Energy, and Five Eyes partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• S3F skin friction measurements achieve better than 5% full scale accuracy compared to drag balance and theoretical Poiseuille flow relations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered standard and core.

• ARA (Europe Distributor)standardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEuropean distributor for ISSI products including PSP, TSP, S3F, and instrumentation systems. Provides local sales and support for European customers.
• Shanghai Bojun (China)standardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChinese distributor for ISSI measurement and instrumentation products. Supports customers in China with local sales and technical assistance.
• Seika Di (Japan)standardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJapanese distributor for ISSI products. Provides local distribution and support for Japanese customers.
• iPressure (South Korea)standardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouth Korean distributor for ISSI pressure sensitive paint and measurement systems.
• Sensol India (India)standardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIndian distributor for ISSI measurement and instrumentation products. Supports Indian market with local sales and technical support.
• Star Teknik (Turkey)standardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTurkish distributor for ISSI products. Provides regional distribution coverage for Turkish customers.
• University of IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Prof. Greg Elliott on Planar Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) research and development. Joint research programs in fluid dynamics measurement technologies.
• Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Dr. Thomas Beutner, Dr. Henry Baust, Dr. Campbell Carter, and Dr. Charles Tyler of AFRL on PDV testing in the Subsonic Aerodynamics Research Laboratory (SARL) wind tunnel.
• Penn State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Dr. Arnie Fontaine on Particle Shadow Velocimetry (PSV) measurements for artificial heart valve research.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Oxford Lasers: UK-based imaging and laser-diagnostics company serving fluid dynamics, ballistics, and combustion research. Directly comparable niche to ISSI's PDV, PSV, and schlieren/shadowgraph flow-visualization product lines for aerospace and academic customers.
• Dantec Dynamics: Danish manufacturer of Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA), PIV, and flow-measurement instrumentation used in aerodynamics, turbomachinery, and fluid-mechanics research. Directly comparable to ISSI's velocimetry and pressure/temperature measurement portfolio with overlapping academic and industrial customers.
• LaVision: German-based developer of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (PLIF), and flow-visualization systems for fluid dynamics and combustion research. Closely comparable to ISSI's PSV, PDV, and PSP/TSP optical-measurement product lines serving the same wind-tunnel and academic research customer base.
• MetroLaser: US-based developer of laser-based optical diagnostics for non-intrusive measurement of flow, vibration, and pressure. Comparable to ISSI's PSP, PDV, and Filtered Rayleigh Scattering products with similar customer overlap in defense and aerospace research.
• TSI Incorporated: US-based maker of aerosol, flow, particle, and gas-measurement instruments serving research, HVAC, and industrial markets. Comparable to ISSI in scientific flow-measurement instrumentation and in serving aerospace, defense, and academic research customers globally.
• Photron: Japanese manufacturer of high-speed imaging cameras used for scientific, automotive, and defense testing applications. Comparable to ISSI's scientific CCD camera product line and to the broader high-speed imaging segment serving wind-tunnel and ballistic-test customers.
• Specialised Imaging: UK-based manufacturer of high-speed framing and streak cameras for ballistics, automotive, and scientific research. Comparable to ISSI's scientific imaging components serving high-speed aerodynamics and defense test applications.
• Vision Research (Phantom High-Speed): US-based maker of Phantom high-speed cameras for scientific research, defense, and aerospace imaging. Comparable to ISSI's CCD camera offerings in serving the same high-speed imaging workflows in wind-tunnel and ballistics test environments.

Broad incumbents

• SAIC: Large US defense contractor and government-IT integrator with broad capabilities in defense research, nuclear surety, and engineering services. Comparable to ISSI's Nuclear Survivability Center of Excellence at a much larger scale, competing for adjacent DoD and DoE engineering-services contracts.
• Battelle Memorial Institute: Large US nonprofit R&D organization managing national laboratories with deep capabilities in aerospace testing, nuclear systems, and defense research. Comparable to ISSI's combined nuclear-services and instrumentation offerings, though at vastly greater scale and breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCRjvHx2Qpvw3Q_H_k9LJxhQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/innovative-scientific-solutions-inc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Innovative Scientific Solutions