Siloton Wins £8.4 Million Innovate UK Contract for Quantum Eye Imaging

Insider Brief

• Bristol-based Siloton secured an £8.4 million, two-year Innovate UK contract to develop in-clinic and at-home versions of its GiraffeOCT retinal imaging system.
• The project includes clinical trials with Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital and work with York Health Economics Consortium to assess potential NHS cost savings.
• The funding is expected to accelerate product development by up to two years, support UK manufacturing plans and help Siloton expand its team to 16 employees by August 2028.

PRESS RELEASE — Bristol-based Siloton has been awarded a major contract to accelerate the development of its groundbreaking handheld eye imaging system, which makes the detection and monitoring of retinal diseases more accessible to patients.

The med-tech start-up has secured £8.4 million from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), through its Contracts for Innovation: Quantum Missions Primer initiative. The programme helps public sector organisations to solve some of their most complex challenges by running competitive funding opportunities for the development of new technologies.

Delivered over two years, the contract will help Siloton accelerate the design of the in-clinic and at-home versions of its GiraffeOCT optical coherence tomography (OCT) device, as well as complete trials on both systems. The start-up expects the funding could cut the development process by up to two years.