Page 17 - Winter 2025

Industry News Industry News

FOCUS ON
REVOLUTIONARY
OPTOELECTRONICS
STICKER TO MONITOR

BREATHING

Optical Networking Technology to connect The programme is said to represent ‘a pioneering
North Sea Offshore Wind Farms model in energy transmission aimed at creating a
more efficient, standardised approach to delivering
Nokia has been selected by TenneT, a European
wind energy’ and Nokia’s 1830 PSS DWDM solution will
A new wearable ‘sticker’ that can accurately ability to continuously measure respiration in this offshore transmission systems operator, to provide
be used to establish a resilient, future ready optical
monitor and detect changes in a person’s way gives us the potential to enable faster, more the optical networking technology for eight new
network connecting the offshore sites to TenneT’s
breathing, even when not in direct contact with effective treatment, significantly enhancing patient two-gigawatt (2GW) platforms in the North Sea.
onshore telecommunications infrastructure.
the skin, has been developed by scientists from outcomes and operational efficiency within the
TenneT has commissioned three consortia (Petrofac
Nottingham Trent University, the University of health service”. Marco Knijpers, Director of Large Projects Offshore at
and Hitachi Energy consortium, GE Vernova-
Southampton and University Hospital Southampton TenneT, comments:
Professor Neil White, Director of the Centre for Seatrium consortium and GE Vernova-McDermott
in collaboration with med-tech company Zelemiq
Healthcare at the University of Southampton, consortium) to deliver the 2GW offshore converter “ As we expand our offshore energy infrastructure,
Limited. connectivity becomes more important than ever.
comments: platforms and onshore grid land stations. Nokia will
Changes in breathing rate can often be an early deliver advanced amplification and transponder The standardised, mission-critical optical network
“ This wearable technology allows the
warning sign of respiratory diseases, including sepsis technologies to support long-distance transmission, delivered by Nokia plays a central role in enabling
measurement of respiratory rate over long periods
and Covid-19, but currently it still requires nurses to single-span unrepeatered transmission of up to 400 the seamless operation and management of our
of time, which is not achievable using conventional
manually count the number of breaths per minute, a kilometres. This will incorporate Nokia’s extended 2GW platforms, allowing us to operate remotely.
manual breath counting. Trends in respiratory rate
slow method that can introduce delays to detecting reach amplification systems to maintain reliable With partnerships like this, Nokia is helping us
can therefore be recorded and observed, offering
changes and providing treatment. optical transport even across the challenging towards a more independent energy supply and
the potential for rapid interventions that can
offshore environment. to advance towards the global goals for tripled
The new device, known as the Pneumorator, contains potentially save lives”. renewable energy deployment set during the
a series of functional layers and works by measuring
Dr. Harry Aberman, a consultant anaesthetist at COP28 climate talks”.
the frequency variation of the sensor that is induced
University Hospital Southampton, adds further: Reference: Dykes, P., ‘Nokia to connect North Sea Offshore Windfarms’,
by breathing, enabling the accurate detection of
Optical Connections, 15th. January
subtle variations resulting from chest expansion or “ Respiratory rate is often the first physiological
changes in lung composition. Tests showed that the parameter to change as the patient is becoming
device was able to measure a respiratory rate to unwell - ahead of changes in heart rate, blood JAXA and NEC achieve World’s fastest Optical
within an accuracy of two breaths per minute. pressure, temperature and oxygen levels. It is also Communication
the only one of these that is routinely measured
It is intended that the device will be wirelessly The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
manually and so is susceptible to human error.
interfaced to display data onto a dedicated (JAXA) and NEC, the contractor of the laser-
smartphone or tablet app so that healthcare We know that earlier detection of diseases is better communication terminals for the Laser Utilising
professionals can gain an early warning of declining for patients whilst also being cheaper to treat, so Communication System (LUCAS) have performed
health. a device that continuously and non-invasively the world’s fastest optical communication using
measures respiratory rate could be a great tool in LUCAS between the Advanced Land Observing
Dr. Yang Wei, specialist in electronic textiles and
the early detection of deteriorating patients”. Satellite-4 and the Optical Data Relay Satellite in
electronic engineering at Nottingham Trent University,
says: Reference: West, P., ‘First of its Kind “Sticker” can monitor Breathing’, geostationary orbit at a distance of around 40,000
Electronic Specifier, 14th. December km. Both organisations then went on to successfully
“ This is a groundbreaking wearable innovation complete transmission of observation data to a
meticulously developed to provide crucial support ground station through the geostationary satellite.
for patients and healthcare professionals. The
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