QUEST PHOTONIC DEVICES BV

Their core work

Quest Photonic Devices (trading as Quest Innovations) is a Dutch SME specializing in photonics-based imaging and sensing systems, particularly hyperspectral cameras and infrared detection devices. They develop hardware combining passive photodetectors and active illuminators operating in the near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectrum ranges. Their technology has applications ranging from surveillance and security imaging to medical diagnostics, most recently focusing on non-invasive monitoring devices for diabetic foot conditions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015-2018), Quest focused on general-purpose infrared imaging and sensing for surveillance and industrial applications through SEERS and EXIST. From 2016 onward, ASTONISH signaled a shift toward health-oriented smart optical imaging. By 2019, PHOOTONICS confirmed a decisive move into medical photonics — applying their core hyperspectral and IR expertise to diabetic foot monitoring, a specific clinical use case with clear commercial potential.

Quest is transitioning from general-purpose infrared imaging toward medtech applications, making them an increasingly relevant partner for health-tech and clinical device projects.

How they like to work

Quest has participated exclusively as a partner, never as a coordinator, across all four H2020 projects — consistent with a specialist technology supplier role. With 57 unique consortium partners across 14 countries, they operate in large ECSEL-type consortia (typically 20+ partners), suggesting they are comfortable contributing specific hardware components within complex multi-partner projects. Their broad partner network indicates openness to new collaborations rather than reliance on a fixed set of allies.

Quest has collaborated with 57 different partners across 14 countries, a wide network built primarily through large ECSEL joint undertaking consortia. This gives them connections across the European photonics and electronics ecosystem.

What sets them apart

Quest occupies a niche at the intersection of photonics hardware manufacturing and application-specific imaging solutions — they don't just research sensors, they build devices. As a Dutch SME with deep infrared and hyperspectral expertise, they can contribute production-ready imaging components that larger partners typically cannot provide in-house. Their recent pivot into medical devices positions them uniquely as a photonics company that bridges the gap between industrial sensing and clinical diagnostics.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PHOOTONICS
  Their most recent and second-largest project (EUR 636K), representing a strategic pivot into medical devices for diabetic foot monitoring using their core hyperspectral technology.
• SEERS
  Their largest single grant (EUR 743K) and earliest H2020 project, focused on cost-effective infrared spectral imaging for surveillance — the foundation of their imaging expertise.