Deep Light Vision AB, together with clinical partners in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, has been selected for funding of NOK 4.5 million (approximately SEK 4.7 million) from Nordic Innovation under the call Using quantum technology to enable breakthroughs in life science and healthcare. The funding, which is distributed among the consortium’s four partners, supports the project NORDIC LIGHT – Nordic Quantum Light Imaging for Breast Cancer Diagnostics, which aims to take the company’s Ultrasound Optical Tomography (UOT) technology into clinical validation.
The project is led by Deep Light Vision as project owner and is carried out in collaboration with Skåne University Hospital in Malmö, Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø, Norway. The clinical research is conducted in close collaboration with researchers at Lund University.
The decision comes at a time when quantum technology is being highlighted as a strategic area for strengthened Nordic cooperation. The Nordic prime ministers adopted a joint statement on quantum technologies in 2025, and Nordic Innovation has identified quantum life sciences as one of the region’s areas of strength in its mapping of the Nordic–Baltic quantum ecosystem. NORDIC LIGHT is a concrete example of how this agenda can be put into practice: a cross-border clinical pilot project in which Swedish quantum optics and medical device development are combined with clinical validation in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
Deep Light Vision is developing a new type of medical imaging technology in which laser light, ultrasound and quantum-enabled optical filtering are combined to image functional properties of tissue deep inside the body. In breast cancer diagnostics, the goal is for the technology, over time, to provide physiological information about tissue oxygenation, blood volume and vascularisation – information that can complement today’s structural imaging.
NORDIC LIGHT is an important step in the company’s clinical development plan. The project includes the development of a clinically adapted UOT prototype as well as planned clinical studies in three Nordic countries, which will be carried out after the necessary ethics and regulatory approvals in each country. The goal is to build a robust multicentre dataset that can be used to evaluate the technology’s potential to improve the diagnosis of indeterminate breast lesions and, over time, reduce the need for unnecessary biopsies.
“For Deep Light Vision, this is more than project funding. It is an external validation that our technology is right for the times – at the intersection of quantum technology, medical imaging and a clear clinical need. The Nordic region has strong research, strong clinical environments and a growing ambition to translate quantum technology into practical life science applications. With NORDIC LIGHT, we have the opportunity to take the next step: from promising in vivo results to systematic clinical validation in several Nordic healthcare settings,” says Anders Sjögren, CEO of Deep Light Vision AB.
“Indeterminate breast lesions are a daily challenge in clinical practice. If UOT can provide reliable functional information about the tissue, the technology has the potential, over time, to reduce the number of biopsies that in retrospect prove to have been unnecessary. That the method can now be evaluated in a multicentre study in three Nordic countries is an important step,” says Sophia Zackrisson, Professor of Radiology at Lund University, senior consultant at Skåne University Hospital and lead clinical investigator in NORDIC LIGHT.
In its decision, Nordic Innovation highlights that the project, if successful, can contribute to a more effective and cost-effective method for breast cancer diagnostics. According to Nordic Innovation, a particular strength is that clinical end users from three countries take part in the testing. The project is also assessed to be relatively high on the TRL scale, with a clear strategy for continued commercialisation.
For Deep Light Vision, the decision is a further validation of the company’s long-term strategy: to develop a new diagnostic imaging platform that can give clinicians more functional information about tissue, while the method is non-invasive and free from ionising radiation. The company sees breast cancer diagnostics as a first major clinical application, with possible future potential also in other areas where tissue oxygenation and microvascular properties are medically relevant.
The project is planned to run from August 2026 to the end of 2028 and is part of Deep Light Vision’s work to build the clinical and regulatory documentation required for future commercialisation. For the company, NORDIC LIGHT means non-dilutive funding, Nordic clinical anchoring and a clear path towards a growing package of clinical evidence.
Deep Light Vision’s technology is under development and is not yet approved for clinical use.
Facts about NORDIC LIGHT
- Project: NORDIC LIGHT – Nordic Quantum Light Imaging for Breast Cancer Diagnostics
- Call: Using quantum technology to enable breakthroughs in life science and healthcare (Nordic Innovation)
- Funding: NOK 4.5 million, distributed among the consortium’s four partners
- Project period: August 2026 – December 2028
- Partners: Deep Light Vision AB (project owner, Lund), Skåne University Hospital in Malmö, Aarhus University Hospital (Denmark) and Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø (Norway)
About Deep Light Vision
Deep Light Vision AB was founded in 2021 to commercialise the UOT technology and is built on three patent applications. The company leads the consortium and is responsible for system integration and the clinical path towards product commercialisation.
With DLV’s technology, imaging of tissue oxygenation, cancer tumours or the distribution of drug molecules is intended to become as simple as an ultrasound examination. The goal is improved personalised medicine, better patient care and reduced costs to society. Swedish researchers and engineers, together with partners in several European countries and the USA, are developing functional tissue imaging that combines light and ultrasound with quantum-enhanced filters based on rare-earth-doped crystals – with the ambition of fundamentally changing medical diagnostics.
About Nordic Innovation
Nordic Innovation is an organization under the Nordic Council of Ministers. We aim to make the Nordics a pioneering region for sustainable growth by promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and competitiveness in Nordic businesses.
We support the Nordic prime ministers’ vision that the Nordic region will become the most sustainable and integrated region in the world in 2030.