VALENCIA FIRM POISED TO RIDE EARLY SUCCESS IN ILLUMINATION; LIGHT HEADED.

Byline: Jason Takenouchi Daily News Staff Writer

In the world of high-tech lighting, success is measured in fibers. And for Valencia-based Cogent Light Technologies Inc., it's measured in single fibers.

The 9-year-old company has made a name for itself with surgical illumination devices that push high-intensity light through single fiber-optic strands as small as 0.5 mm wide. The strands replace commonly used 5 mm bundles and are small enough for medical operations in tiny spaces and lightweight surgeon's headlights.

But company officials say the inventions that have made Cogent Light a top name in the medical lighting field are just a prelude. In the next 12 months, they say, the private firm plans to begin its expansion into an array of new markets.

President and founder Douglas Brenner compared the company's refinement of plastic, single-fiber-optic lighting to the invention of the light bulb. He said he envisions a future where networks of fiber-optic lines will illuminate everything from cars to display cases to airplanes.

``We anticipate thousands of light sources for commercial applications,'' he said.

And illumination is just the start. Brenner said other possibilities include the replacement of lasers for cutting, a low-cost heat source, and a way to stop bleeding in dental procedures.

While the leap to new fields may seem a stretch for a company whose current claims to fame include tools that can assist an unglamorous endoscopic bowel resection, Brenner has reason to set the company's goals high.

Cogent Light headlights for surgeons are sold through several top medical distributors, including Smith and Nephew Inc., and have become popular with surgeons across the globe. Powered by strong headlight sales, the company is now among the top manufacturers of lighting devices that use xenon, a source that gives off white light similar to sunlight.

The company's rapid rise has been fueled by two innovations.

Most fiber-optic lighting devices use thick bundles of strands, and those strands usually are made of quartz to prevent melting during high-energy transmissions.

Cogent Light broke both conventions. Its single-strand fiber-optic lines can be made smaller than 1 mm wide, and a special device filters out most of the infrared light that otherwise would melt plastic.

Since it is a single strand, light from the devices does not have the dark spots that occur when strands in a fiber-optic bundle fracture or break. And light emanating from the strands loses little of its power over long distances.

The result, officials say, is cheaper, lighter and more durable fiber-optic devices.

Hillel Laks, chief of cardiac surgery at UCLA Medical Center, said the company's headlights are assets in the operating room because of their compact weight and size. Older models often weigh as much as a pound more than comparable Cogent Light lights.

``Their headlight is quite a big advance over the previously used headlights,'' Laks said.

``If you're doing long operations or multiple operations, it makes a big difference to the surgeon,'' he said. ``If it's better for the surgeon, that translates into being better for the patient.''

Cogent Light technology has been particularly helpful in some medical arenas because it allows lighting sources to be far from where light is needed.

``In our environment, there's a strong magnetic field which does not allow us to put instruments in the room,'' said Daniel Kacher, senior clinical engineer for the MRI Department of Brigham Women's Hospital in Boston. ``All the other products use bundles, which would mean you would have to put the device inside the room.''

While particularly suited for medical lighting, especially neurosurgery and plastic surgery, the company's patented medical devices are just a prelude, said company General Manager Dennis Davis.

``For 10 years, we've been developing the technology,'' Davis said. ``Now you're going to see it come out.''

Davis said the use of less expensive plastic fibers, when combined with the dropping cost of light sources as the company researches new models, will help bring the technology out of the operating room.

Brenner, the company's president, said major nonmedical manufacturers are already interested in possible applications for the company's technology.

``Every year in the computer industry there are faster machines for less money,'' Brenner said. ``That's what we intend to be for the illumination technology industry.''

Among the scenarios the company is exploring: using a network of fiber-optic lines from a single light source to provide overhead illumination along aisles and for each seat in an airplane, replacing scores of individual light bulbs; replacing neon signs with cheaper fiber-optic lines that can change colors easily through the use of filters; using fiber-optic lines as an alternative to a car's conventional headlights and interior lighting.

Brenner started Cogent Light as a spinoff of LaserMedia, a Los Angeles-area company that provided laser light systems for entertainment attractions.

While developing an alternative to lasers for the company, Brenner said he discovered a more efficient method for coupling light into a single fiber.

But the company was no ordinary start-up. It had initial backing from LaserMedia, and in late 1993 billionaire John Kluge bought a controlling interest in the company.

The company is already on the fast track for growth. Its sales doubled between 1997 and 1998, Brenner said, adding that its current corporate objective is to double sales every year.

That shouldn't be too hard, Brenner said.

``We did the hard work over the past 4-1/2 years,'' he said. ``Now it's just a question of taking what we have and turning a crank.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) (Ran in Business only) Cogent Light Technologies has developed thin fiber-optic cables designed to replace bulkier illumination equipment.

(2--Color) Dennis Davis, Cogent's vice president, shows some of the Valencia company's fiber-optic devices.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News