Groundbreaking Research at Tyndall Aims to Eliminate Skin Colour Bias in Healthcare

Tyndall researcher awarded €1.58 million from the renowned funding body, European Research Council (ERC), to support his groundbreaking research.  

IPIC, the SFI Centre for Photonics based at Tyndall National Institute (a research flagship of University College Cork), is pleased to announce that Dr Sanathana Konugolu Venkata Sekar has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant. The grant, worth €1.58m, will support Dr Konugolu Venkata Sekar’s groundbreaking research project NOBIAS: “Novel diffuse Optical method to combat skin colour bias in non-invasive optical biomarker sensing devices”.

Skin colour bias in optical healthcare devices affects 2.2 billion people of colour worldwide. Dr Konugolu’s project, NOBIAS, aims to develop a revolutionary Time Domain Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy (TDDOS) method to eliminate colour bias, motion artefacts and inaccuracies in optical biomarker devices such as pulse oximeters (used to measure oxygen levels in blood) and smartwatches.

This pioneering technology will address the critical need for more accurate and equitable medical diagnostics by focusing on the influence of skin pigmentation, variations in skin layer thickness, and composition across different ethnicities. The goal is to create a bias-free foundation for optical biomarker assessments that will enable a new era of accurate optical biomarker sensors for fitness and clinical bedside monitors.

The prestigious ERC Starting Grants, awarded by Europe’s leading research funding body, are designed to support emerging research leaders in building their independent teams and conducting pioneering research with the potential for significant global impact.

Speaking about his work, Dr Konugolu explains: “My goal with the NOBIAS project is to lay the foundation for the world’s first bias-free and accurate optical biomarker sensing device, and our hope is that its legacy will be the gold standard for bias-free clinical and personal biomarkers sensing”.

Professor Paul Townsend, Head of Photonics, Tyndall and Director of IPIC, said: “Dr Konugolu has consistently impressed me with his passion and commitment to the generation of new ideas and knowledge, as well as his ability to commercialise those ideas to realise new medical technologies that will benefit society in the future. This significant award confirms his outstanding potential as a world-leading biophotonics researcher, and I am confident the project will lead to new innovations that will be very impactful for the field”.

Welcoming the news, Martin O’Connell, EU Programme Manager at IPIC, said: “ERC grants are among the most prestigious of any funding body worldwide, and the successful award is a testament to the research excellence consistently on display on an ongoing basis in IPIC.”