Understanding how light interacts with living cells and tissues is the foundation of his work. It might not be as simple as shining a phone flashlight on your finger, but the principles of diffusive glow apply to many of Roblyer’s medical device inventions for tracking health.

In the Biomedical Optical Technologies Lab, he and his team are testing ways to monitor biological processes—like blood pressure, oxygen levels, and disease progression—with light waves. For example, studying the way different wavelengths of light create patterns when absorbed and scattered can tell Roblyer about the metabolic signals in a person’s blood. Over the past several years, he’s developed a blood pressure monitoring device that does not involve a cuff squeezing your arm, with the aim of getting a more accurate reading than the current, sometimes uncomfortable, options.