Photonics Healthcare

What Photonics Healthcare does

Photonics Healthcare BV is a Netherlands-based medical device company (registered in Utrecht) that develops, manufactures, and commercializes the COMET measurement system, a CE-marked device that non-invasively measures cellular oxygen levels (mitochondrial partial pressure of oxygen, mmHg) in real time at the bedside. Its core technology, the protoporphyrin IX triplet state lifetime technique (PpIX-TSLT), was invented by Dr. Egbert Mik and Dr. Michiel Sinaasappel and represents the first practical clinical method to measure oxygen availability and consumption directly in tissue cell mitochondria rather than in blood. The CE-marked skin sensor is commercially available and has been used in 16 clinical trials across 7 institutes in 2 countries, primarily in European hospital anesthesiology and intensive care settings including cardiopulmonary bypass and major surgery.

The company generates revenue through one-time hardware sales of the COMET measurement system and skin sensors to European hospitals and clinical researchers via a direct sales model with quote-based pricing. Product is restricted to European institutions with applicable regulatory approvals, and the company holds EN ISO 13485:2016 quality certification (2024-2027) alongside its CE marking. Photonics Healthcare became a majority-owned subsidiary of photonamic GmbH & Co KG (part of the SBI group) in October 2019, with collaboration between the two entities strengthened in April 2023 following a successful clinical pilot study. Leadership comprises CEO F. Michael Münker, CTO Dr. Rutger van Merkerk, and CSO Dr. Egbert Mik.

The firm operates with a small team (1-10 employees) and is positioned as a research-validated niche medical device player. Its forward roadmap includes additional CE-marked sensors (interstitial probes, endoscopic sensors) and potential expansion of clinical indications beyond the initial skin-based measurement, supported by an active peer-reviewed publication pipeline in journals including Anesthesiology, Nature Scientific Reports, PLoS ONE, and J Clin Monit Comput. The competitive moat rests on proprietary PpIX-TSLT physics, CE/ISO regulatory certifications, and a growing evidence base demonstrating clinical superiority over lactate, regional saturation, and blood pressure for detecting cellular hypoxia and predicting complications such as acute kidney injury.

Name

Photonics Healthcare

Legal name

Photonics Healthcare BV

Website

https://photonicshealthcare.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Photonics Healthcare is a Netherlands-based medical device company that sells the CE-marked COMET measurement system to European hospitals and researchers for non-invasive, real-time measurement of cellular (mitochondrial) oxygen levels in patients using its proprietary PpIX-TSLT optical technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cellular Oxygen Monitoring Medical Devices

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)

akta.pro primary industry

Respiratory Monitoring & Oximetry (Capnography, Pulse Oximeters, Respiratory Rate) (HLAHAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Clinical-Grade Vital Signs Monitoring (ECG, SpO2, BP, Temp, Respiration) (HLACAPAI), Blood Oxygen & Respiratory Monitoring (Pulse Oximetry, Capnography, Spirometry) (HLAHACAD)

Keywords

• Cellular oxygen monitoring
• Medical device manufacturing
• Patient monitoring systems
• Mitochondrial oxygen tension
• Perioperative oxygen measurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Deurne

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. COMET Measurement System Sales: Sale of CE-marked COMET measurement system and sensors to European hospitals and researchers for clinical and research applications in anesthesiology and intensive care medicine.
2. Sensor Products: CE-marked skin sensor is currently available. Future sensors (interstitial probes, endoscopic sensor) may extend product line for measurements in other organs like gut.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Photonics Healthcare develops, manufactures, and commercializes the CE-marked COMET Measurement System, a non-invasive medical device that determines cellular oxygen availability (partial pressure of oxygen in mmHg) in real time at the bedside by measuring oxygen directly in the mitochondria of active skin cells. The system uses the proprietary protoporphyrin IX triplet state lifetime technique (PpIX-TSLT), enabling clinicians and researchers to detect hypoxia and assess intervention effectiveness in perioperative and intensive care settings.

Product overview

Photonics Healthcare offers a single core product—the COMET Measurement System—which is a CE-marked medical device that non-invasively measures cellular oxygen levels (mitochondrial oxygen tension) in real time at the bedside. The system uses the protoporphyrin IX triplet state lifetime technique (PpIX-TSLT) to measure oxygen directly in the mitochondria of active cells, providing a fundamentally different measurement from traditional blood-based oxygen monitoring. The technology has been used in clinical trials and is currently available for skin measurements, with ongoing research into other organ applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COMET: CE-marked COMET measurement system for non-invasive real-time measurement of oxygen in human skin cells at the mitochondrial level.

Products and services

• COMET Measurement System The CE-marked COMET Measurement System is a non-invasive medical device that determines oxygen availability as partial pressure of oxygen (mmHg) in human skin cells in real time at the bedside, measuring specifically in the mitochondria of active cells using the proprietary protoporphyrin IX triplet state lifetime technique (PpIX-TSLT). It is offered to European hospitals (anesthesiology and intensive care) and clinical researchers with applicable regulatory approvals for perioperative monitoring, ICU patient monitoring, cardiopulmonary bypass monitoring, early detection of complications such as acute kidney injury, transfusion guidance, and clinical research on cellular oxygenation.
• COMET Skin Sensor The CE-marked skin sensor is the currently available sensor for the COMET Measurement System, collecting signals from several square millimeters of epidermis to provide an average value across different cells. It enables repeated measurements during and after applied pressure to determine cellular oxygen utilization and analyze re-perfusion. Future sensors (interstitial probes and endoscopic sensors) are under development to extend measurements to organs such as the gut.

Quantifiable outcome

• Preclinically, transfusion need was detected two hours before kidney failure
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• photonamic GmbH & Co KGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 April 2023Photonamic and Photonics Healthcare strengthened their collaboration after successful clinical pilot study of oxygen measurement technology in April 2023. The partnership focuses on advancing cellular oxygen monitoring technology.
• Kiwa Assurance BVminorOthersKiwa Assurance BV has taken over responsibility for MDD (Medical Device Directive) surveillance of the COMET measurement system CE certificate under EU 2023/607 provisions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hemedex: Hemedex (now part of Adipomics) sells the OxyLab/OxyFlo system for quantitative tissue oxygen and blood flow measurement in research and clinical settings. Directly comparable as a niche oxygen-measurement device with research/clinical positioning similar to COMET.
• Edwards Lifesciences: Edwards Lifesciences sells the ForeSight Elite tissue oximetry system (NIRS-based) used in cardiac surgery and ICUs to monitor tissue oxygen saturation. Closest competing modality to COMET in the perioperative tissue-oxygenation use case, with an established global commercial footprint.
• Medtronic: Medtronic markets the INVOS (Invos Cerebral/Somatic Oximetry) system used to noninvasively monitor regional tissue oxygen saturation during cardiac and major surgery. Directly comparable use case (perioperative tissue oxygen) to COMET, though based on NIRS rather than mitochondrial PpIX-TSLT.

Broad incumbents

• Nonin Medical: Nonin Medical manufactures pulse oximeters and regional oximetry sensors for clinical and research applications. Operates in the broader oximetry/patient monitoring space that overlaps with COMET's non-invasive oxygen measurement category.
• Nihon Kohden: Nihon Kohden is a major Japanese patient monitoring company selling vital signs monitors for ORs and ICUs. Indirect overlap with COMET through critical care patient monitoring platforms; competes more on workflow integration than on tissue-oxygen specificity.
• Masimo: Masimo is the dominant pulse oximetry (SpO2) vendor with deep clinical penetration in anesthesia machines and patient monitoring. Sells adjacent to COMET (blood oxygen vs. cellular oxygen) and represents the entrenched standard COMET must integrate with or differentiate from.

Others

• Mölnlycke Health Care: While a wound care and medical device firm, not a direct competitor. Listed here only to flag that COMET's stated wound care use case aligns Mölnlycke-type players as adjacent ecosystem participants in tissue assessment and wound management markets Photonics may move into.
• SBI Holdings (photonamic parent group): SBI Holdings is the parent company of photonamic GmbH, which in turn majority-owns Photonics Healthcare. Listed for ecosystem context as the strategic parent that owns both the PpIX-TSLT measurement device and the photodynamic therapy/diagnostic platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/PhotonicsHealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/photonics-healthcare

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

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 Photonics Healthcare