Arsen Hajian developed a new technology called high-throughput virtual slit (HTVS) while working at the U.S. Naval Observatory and later the University of Waterloo to address the problem that most light is lost in conventional spectrometers. He co-founded Tornado Spectral Systems in 2010 to commercialize HTVS, allowing spectrometers to perform at the same level as devices 10-30 times larger but at a lower price. In 2015, Hindsight Imaging was founded to deliver HTVS-based hyperspectral imaging solutions. The first product, Bilby, provides visible and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging at a nanometer resolution in a cost-effective package. Both companies have seen success

1. 16 OPTICS & PHOTONICS NEWS OCTOBER 2015
From Concept to Commercialization:
Next-Generation Spectroscopy
The story of Tornado and Hindsight begins in 1995
when Arsen Hajian was hired by the U.S. Naval
Observatory (USNO) in Washington, D.C., to translate
spatial interferometry into optical wavelengths: Though
primarily a radio astronomer, I was introduced to optical
spectrometer instrumentation during my time at USNO
and fabricated these devices to detect extrasolar planets
and stellar companions. Unfortunately, these measure-
ments were difficult and time-consuming—i.e., to obtain
a given signal-to-noise ratio for high spectral resolution,
these instruments need a very long integration time. The
reason for this is not just the faintness of the light source,
but also an inherent problem with spectrometers: most of
the light gets thrown away at the slit in order to generate
the high spectral resolution needed for the experiment.
Astronomers have solved this problem by making bigger
spectrometers to collect more light. However, a room-
sized spectrometer isn’t commercially practical, nor did
it conform to the typical budget of a government research
laboratory. There had to be a better way.
Squeezing more light out of a spectrometer
After leaving USNO in 2007, I continued to explore this
integral problem with spectrometers as a professor at the
Tornado Spectral Systems and Hindsight Imaging’s Arsen R. Hajian
and Jessica Moreno explain how a hypothesis turned into a technological
breakthrough and finally, a commercial product.
OPTICS INNOVATIONS
Pulses
USGS Spectroscopy Lab
An example of
a spectroscopic
alteration map of
Cuprite, Nev., USA

2. 17OCTOBER 2015 OPTICS & PHOTONICS NEWS
University of Waterloo, Canada. I was attracted
to the university’s thriving local startup com-
munity, and over the next three years, I built a
team focused on imaging and remote sensing
applications. Our work led to the founding of
Tornado Spectral Systems in January 2010. I
joined Tornado fulltime in late 2010, and my
colleagues and I continued on our quest. In
2011, we deployed the high-throughput virtual
slit (HTVS), which was the first commercial
manifestation of our pupil slicing technology.
The HTVS allows the f-ratio and magnifica-
tion of the system to change independently.
Inclusion of an HTVS in a spectrometer
changes the optical design flexibilities and
performance rules. It alters the philosophy
by which a spectrometer is designed and
optimized. For example, a spectral imager
designed with HTVS technology can be used
to augment spatial or spectral resolution as
compared to a similar standard push-broom
spectrometer. Furthermore, the HTVS can
be deployed in a reflective configuration,
making it applicable across a wide range of
wavelengths.
Since the HTVS can deliver spectral resolu-
tion without blocking a significant amount of
light, it results in a much smaller and cheaper
spectrometer than conventional technology
permits. In general, HTVS-equipped spectrom-
eters can perform for many applications at the
same level as standard devices that are 10 to
30 times larger. Another way to state this per-
formance advantage is that HTVS-equipped
spectrometer systems can generate the same
results as non-HTVS-equipped spectrometers,
but at a substantially lower price point.
After the design team improved and sim-
plified the HTVS’ optomechanical design, it
was clear we were on to something important.
COMPANY INFO
Tornado Spectral
Systems
URL
www.tornado-
spectral.com
HEADQUARTERS
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
CEO
Andrew Boorn
PRODUCTS
Raman
spectroscopy
instruments
Hindsight
Imaging
URL
www.hindsight-
imaging.com
HEADQUARTERS
Brookline,
Mass., USA
CEO
Arsen R. Hajian
PRODUCTS
Hyperspectral
imaging solutions
The HTVS can be deployed in a
reflective configuration, making
it applicable across a wide range
of wavelengths.
Commercialization
Jessica Moreno picks up here with the story
of Tornado’s growth and the emergence of
Hindsight Imaging: We patented the HTVS in
2011 and began building spectrometers that
redefined achievable detection limits with
process measurements using Raman spec-
troscopy as the preferred modality. The cost
savings and increased performance of pupil
slicing as applied to Raman spectroscopy is
valuable in process monitoring
in order to decrease the cost per
cubic centimeter of material
probed and the cost per molecule
of detected material. Tornado’s
product development has led to
the recent release of a commercial
Raman device called the Hyper-
Flux P.R.O. Plus.
In 2015, Hindsight Imaging was founded
as a separate entity, with a mission to deliver
inexpensive, HTVS-based spectral imagers
to customers interested in remote sensing.
Hindsight has progressed rapidly—it fielded
its first remote-sensing hyperspectral products
in September 2015, only a few months after
incorporation in May 2015. The first Hindsight
product, the Bilby, is a visible-and-near-
infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral system with
a spectral resolution of one nanometer in a
cost-effective package.
Our biggest challenge in selling Tornado
and Hindsight products has been overcoming
expert’s disbelief that our reported perfor-
mance levels are possible. Our continued
success comes from our instruments’ ability
to deliver rapid real-time discrimination
across a wide range of chemical analysis and
process-control applications. It has been a long
path, starting in academia, wandering through
government research labs, back into academia,
and finally in the business sector, but the
HTVS has found two good homes. OPN
Arsen Hajian (arsen.hajian@hindsight-imaging.com)
is CEO of Hindsight Imaging, and a founder and
director of Tornado Spectral Systems. Jessica
Moreno is the marketing and communications
associate for Tornado.