Our Technology

We believe in a new approach to healthcare, where quantitative, rapid diagnostic tests are run wherever and whenever they are needed.

Our platform harnesses the power of advanced planar waveguide technology to generate quantitative lab-quality results almost anywhere in minutes.

The test procedure is simple. No special training is needed. Disposable test cartridges can run multiple tests simultaneously to help diagnosis or rule out a disease.

Have it all,
without compromise.

Quantitative

Quantitative, reproducible, and highly sensitive.

Speed

Results in as little as 5 minutes.

Simple

Just add sample and walk away.

Low cost

Elegantly simple and scalable design.

Multiplex

Dozens of tests possible on a single cartridge.

Product Portfolio

We are developing a portfolio of diagnostic tests for settings where lab‑quality results are vital in making time‑critical decisions.

Diverse applications across human diagnostics, veterinary diagnostics and environmental testing.
Diverse applications across human diagnostics, veterinary diagnostics and environmental testing.
Diverse applications across human diagnostics, veterinary diagnostics and environmental testing.
Diverse applications across human diagnostics, veterinary diagnostics and environmental testing.
Diverse applications across human diagnostics, veterinary diagnostics and environmental testing.

Leadership

Executive team

MEET OUR TEAM

Latest news

In the spotlight

VIEW ALL NEWS

LightDeck Diagnostics Awarded $5.65 Million from BARDA to Develop a Rapid Antigen Test for SARS-CoV-2

LightDeck Diagnostics Earns Certification to ISO 13485

LightDeck Diagnostics Raises $11 Million Series B

Join our team

We are constantly seeking talented scientists, engineers and business people to catalyze our growth. We provide a place where we do what we love and contribute to making a difference in the world.

Learn More

Chris Myatt, PhD

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Myatt is the founder and CEO of LightDeck Diagnostics, Inc. Prior to LightDeck Diagnostics, Chris founded and led Precision Photonics Corporation, a successful laser and optical technology supplier that is now a division of IDEX. Trained as a physicist and measurement scientist, Chris invented and developed multiple technologies that formed the basis of his companies. He earned a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in Mathematics at Southern Methodist University. Chris also earned a Ph.D. in Atomic Physics at the University of Colorado. He studied Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) under Carl Wieman (Nobel Prize, 2001), helping to create the first BEC condensate in the Wieman lab. He also studied quantum information under David Wineland (Nobel Prize, 2012) as a National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder.

Chris earned a BS/BA in Physics/Mathematics from Southern Methodist University and a PhD in Atomic Physics at University of Colorado at Boulder.

Byron Hewett, MBA

President and Chief Operating Officer

Byron Hewett has led healthcare and life science companies for more than 30 years, in multi-national firms, development-stage and start-up companies. Byron is a 4-time CEO. Prior to LightDeck and Brava, Byron was CEO of SomaLogic, a life sciences tools company focused on biomarker discovery. He served as Chairman and CEO of BioBehavioral Diagnostics, a start-up medical device company with the first FDA-cleared system for the assessment of ADHD. He served as CEO and a director at Immunicon (NASDAQ: IMMC), the first FDA-cleared test for circulating tumor cells. He served in executive roles at Qiagen, Bayer Diagnostics, Chiron Diagnostics and Abbott.

Byron earned a Masters in Management from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.

Mike Lochhead, PhD

Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Lochhead is a co-founder of LightDeck Diagnostics and leads technical development, collaborator activities, and intellectual property strategy. He serves as Program Manager on our commercial partnerships and is Principal Investigator on multiple major contracts with agencies including NIH, NSF and DARPA. Mike leads our talented team of instrumentation engineers and assay development scientists, and he has overall responsibility for operational scale-up of the disposable cartridge production line. Previously, Mike developed and commercialized microarray surface chemistry products at Accelr8 Technology Corporation (now Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc.) where he was also part of the engineering team developing the company’s bacterial identification technology.

Mike earned a BS and BA in Chemical Engineering and Government from University of Notre Dame and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dave Okrongly, PhD

Chief Science Officer

Dave Okrongly has been a business executive and R&D leader in the diagnostics industry, ranging from start-up to multi-national companies. He brings expertise in instrument and assay development, clinical/regulatory affairs and operations. Prior to joining LightDeck, Dave served as President of the OPKO Diagnostics division of OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDQ: OPK). He led the development and launch of the 4Kscore test for aggressive prostate cancer risk determination, and the development of the FDA-approved Claros 1 point-of-care analyzer. He served as chief operating officer of Exosome Diagnostics, President and CEO for Quanterix Corporation (NASDQ: QTRX), and held leadership positions with Siemens and Bayer Diagnostics.

Dave earned his PhD in Chemistry from Columbia University and a BSc with honors in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Carrie Mulherin, MBA

Chief Marketing Officer

Carrie Mulherin is a marketing and sales executive with extensive start-up experience and 31 product launches. Carrie brings deep experience in strategic and tactical marketing, cross-functional team management and commercialization. Carrie was CEO of Focus Marketing, an independent consulting agency, VP of Diagnostics at SomaLogic, VP of Marketing and Sales for BioBDx/Pearson, Director of Marketing for Orasure Technologies, VP of Marketing and Sales at Immunicon Corporation and VP Sales and Marketing at Intracel Corporation.

Carrie earned a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and biochemical sciences from Princeton University and an MBA in marketing from the University of Scranton.

Kenny Edwards

VP Finance, Chief Financial Officer

Kenny Edwards is an experienced, entrepreneurial CFO with over 25 years of diverse expertise in private and public company financial leadership. Kenny has previously served as CFO of CenterStone Technologies, Inc., CFO of StyleSelect Technologies, Inc., CFO of Exactis.com and Corporate Controller of Atlantes, Inc., all venture capital funded technology companies. He led the IPO of Exactis.com prior to its acquisition by Experian Marketing Services, where he served as SVP Finance of the Email Marketing Division.

Kenny earned a BS in Accountancy from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Nick Traggis

EVP, Corporate Development

Mr. Traggis has held various operations leadership, business development, and engineering positions in both industrial manufacturing and technology development companies. Most recently, he has served as a consultant performing C-level directed projects in areas of technology transfer, contract negotiation, and mergers/acquisitions for point of care diagnostics, and high-tech manufacturing companies. Prior to that he worked as the General Manager of Precision Photonics; ultimately selling to IDEX Corporation, where he remained on as the Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Traggis brings a strong deal-making expertise to our team as well as an ability to strategically evaluate current and emerging opportunities.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in metallurgical and materials engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

Frank Gill

VP, Operations

Frank is an entrepreneurial executive with over 20 years of experience building operational infrastructure and supply chains for IVD and Life Science companies, from initial start-up to worldwide commercial distribution. He has held senior leadership roles at 454 Life Sciences, Rheonix, iCarbonX and recently, as VP Operations & Site Head, led the turn-around of OPKO Diagnostics, culminating in the PMA approval of their Claros POC platform.

Frank earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Albright College.

Kathy Crawford

Chief People Officer

Kathy Crawford is an experienced Human Resources leader with a background growing cutting edge biosciences companies. Prior to joining LightDeck, Kathy served as Vice President, Human Resources for LivaNova, a global neuromodulation and cardiovascular medical technology organization. In addition, she has served in HR leadership roles at Arca Biopharma, Myogen, and Dharmacon /Fischer Scientific.

Kathy earned a BA in Philosophy from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois and has attained several senior level HR certifications.

Katie Erdley

Senior Director, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs

Katie Erdley is an experienced director of quality assurance with marked success under the ISO 13485 Medical Device Single Audit Program. Katie has successfully designed, implemented, and maintained highly-compliant and efficient quality management systems for companies that develop and manufacture therapeutic and diagnostic medical devices. Prior to joining LightDeck, Katie was the Director of Quality Assurance at Actuated Medical Inc., where she was instrumental in the design and development, manufacturing scale up, and 510(k) clearance of the company’s first commercial medical device.

Katie earned her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Penn State, completed the ExecuStar executive training program at the Penn State Harrisburg School of Business, and holds certificates from the American Society of Quality.