The Healthcare industry is progressing at a rapid scale, as new threats such as Antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases, and different infectious diseases threaten the health of the world. To encounter these emerging threats, science-tech such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing, robotics are becoming the hottest choices of healthcare providers to treat, diagnose, and research. Among these new-age technologies is photonics. To put it in simple words, Photonics is the technology that helps to harness and generate light (photons).  It is used in driverless cars, 5G, and green technologies. Photonics in healthcare is used in the application of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in medical imaging. Photonics has the capability to produce advanced diagnostics, pervasive tracking, and revolutionary e-health applications easily, cleanly, and reliably, which can detect body signals, signs, and diseases at very early stages.

It is in this crucial time span that our ability to monitor or react appropriately to a threat decides the testing and initial response. And because of its speed and the rapid time it can deliver information, it is in this crucial phase where photonics can provide unique solutions like no other technology. To decide if they suffer from a disease that is caused by a virus or a bacterium, Photonics may provide instantaneous knowledge about a patient’s health status. Indeed, one of light technology’s unique selling points is that on-site, in-situ findings can be determined without having to send samples to a laboratory and wait for analysis, all of which can take days or even weeks.

COVID-19 showed us that we, as a species, are unprepared for deadly pandemics and the blow of infectious diseases on our health systems in many regions of the world. Photonics will help us combat infectious diseases that kill an unimaginable number of individuals and train us for potential pandemics. However, lack of funding remains the primary barrier to vast developments in this field and its application across various industries, if not healthcare. There is a need for government and healthcare providers to invest in photonics to help us fight against infectious diseases like influenza, AIDS, SARS, Ebola, Zika and many more to come.