A NAVITAR COMPANY A NAVITAR COMPANY
Markets We Serve:
• Life Science Research
• Laser Applications
• Industrial OEM
• 4K Projection
What We Do:
• Provide ;;;;;;;;;;;;;
& Custom Precision
Optical Assemblies
Made in the USA
How We Can Help You:
• Optical Design
• Engineering
• Manufacturing
• Testing
585.359.4000 | 800.828.6778 | info@navitar.com | navitar.com
The New Economy
First coined in a 1983 Times Magazine cover story, the phrase
“The New Economy” describes the transition from a manu-facturing-based society to a technology-driven, service-based
economy. The story predicted very well how online retailing
and advertising, crowdfunding/crowdsourcing, globalized/ac-
cessible medicine, sustainability and sharing/re-use services (car
sharing/Netflix) would dramatically change the definition of
“durable” goods (and logically pump up the associated laser
sales for high-speed optical fiber communications networks).
While initially envisioned for the U. S. only, this New Economy
now extends—in large part due to globalization and the Internet—
to a worldwide stage. Fortunately, the New Economy is good
for lasers: An article in the aptly named The New Economy
magazine entitled, “JenLab’s nanotechnology solutions speed
up skin cancer detection,” describes how the company JenLab
(Jena, Germany) is using its femtosecond laser multiphoton tomograph technology to end the labor-intensive, time-consum-
ing process of medical biopsy and replace it with rapid, real-
time early skin cancer detection more accessible to the masses.
JenLab’s patented 12 fs ultrashort-pulse lasers can also drill
sub-100-nm-diameter holes in the surface of cells, allowing
nanosurgical insertion of molecules into a cell’s cytoplasm in a
process called cell transfection. This process has immense im-
plications for stem cell therapy and correspondingly high po-
tential impact on the economy as these therapies could elim-
inate the high medical costs associated with many common,
widespread diseases like diabetes—bringing disease preven-
tion and cure to a higher percentage of the population.
According to the World Bank, health expenditures repre-
sented 17.9% of the U.S. GDP in 2012 compared to typical
10 to 11% figures in Europe and 4 to 5% figures in developing countries like China and India. And although projections
that per-capita health expenditures are expected to outpace
per-capita income globally well into 2050 are bad news for
individual consumers, the news is good for laser manufacturers playing in the biophotonics sector.
So, besides the boost in medical and communications laser
sales, how else might laser manufacturers benefit from the
New Economy? In his book New Rules for the New Economy,
Kevin Kelly describes how technology is transforming society. “The creations most in demand from the U.S. (those exported) lost 50% of their physical weight per dollar of value in only six years,” says Kelly. “The disembodied world of
