I’m Justin Baba, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Yaya Scientific, which we started in 2019.
Yaya Scientific was founded to commercialize technologies I’ve developed throughout my career in Bio Photonics – where I hold 15 issued U.S. patents. Our goal is to make a real impact in how healthcare is delivered, improving quality of life, and extending life expectancy for individuals.
I was introduced to Innovations in Optics by a former intern who worked with me during my time at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. I told him, “We’ve got this underlying need and issue – we need a broadband, high-intensity light source that gives us uniform illumination with enough power to generate our images.” He said, “Have you heard of Innovations in Optics? They’re based out of the Boston area and they are really good at custom light solutions.”
We had previously worked with another company, invested quite a bit of time and money, but it just wasn’t working out. We lost two of the most valuable resources: time and capital. When I saw your web page, I noticed one of your illumination engines. I thought, this might actually work. So I flew out to your facility in Woburn to check out the LumiSpectra. Tom, your CEO, gave me a demo—and he was genuinely excited, like a kid in a candy store. It was fun and energizing.
As I watched the LumiSpectra in action, I was blown away. Oh my gosh. The beam quality, the intensity – it was incredibly uniform. I brought the unit back with me, ran it, and got some promising preliminary data. That led to a custom development contract with your team to build a solution tailored to the specific wavelengths we need.
What I’ve really appreciated is how engaged and supportive you’ve been. You enjoy what you do, you’re excited about your product, and excited about helping customers meet their needs. Tom personally spent time walking me and our engineer through the system to make sure we hit our deadline. That level of commitment really spoke volumes to me. You’re not just a vendor; you’re a true partner in innovation.
When I met with Tom and Karen, it became clear that we all share a passion for improving healthcare through better medical technology—and that really sets you all apart.
And the fact that you’re hands-on and true experts – with in-house capabilities including custom die bonding and light engine design and fabrication – you’ve really got all the bases covered. From optics to thermal management to electronics, your comprehensive approach really impressed me. That spoke volumes as well.
IOI truly lives up to its name – Innovations in Optics. There’s no doubt about it. After meeting you all and working with your team, I can confidently say: you’re not just innovators in name, you’re innovators in reality. It’s not just marketing – it’s the real deal. Honestly, I don’t want to work with anyone else when it comes to light sources. I know you’ll deliver a functional solution, and more importantly, I trust your honesty. You’re straightforward, transparent, and if there are any issues – you address it.
What’s even more refreshing is your responsiveness—even on weekends. For a startup like ours, where things move fast, that kind of attentiveness makes a huge difference. I only wish I had discovered you all three or four years ago—we’d be finished by now!
When it comes to performance and the best attributes of IOI – IOI light sources deliver on all fronts – power, intensity, and uniformity. It’s truly exceptional. I honestly don’t think there’s anything out there that competes. I don’t even feel the need to test other options.
How does the LumiSpectra enable our success? Oh – it has been pivotal. Without it, we couldn’t collect data in a reasonable amount of time. We measured it to see how many more orders of magnitude better it was than other solutions out there – as soon as I turned it on, I was able to capture high-quality images in milliseconds – sometimes under 10 ms integration times.
Your team is accessible, responsive, and highly competent. Thanks to your support, we were able to collect preliminary data, prove our concept, and deliver results that impressed our sponsor.
I’ve been telling everyone: Hey – if you need a light source, these are the people you want to work with. Anyone who asks me – I’ll tell them: go with Innovations in Optics.