About Us

Our Story

From neuroscience research to wearable technology

Born out of research labs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2024, we bring together neuroscientists and engineers to advance neurotech innovation.

Our work centers on high performance and reliability within demanding settings. Our camera-free optical sensing approach was originally developed to continuously capture pupil biometrics in unrestrained preclinical mouse models. We're now building out the system for human applications, starting with smart eyewear integration.

Our Vision

Bringing eye measurements into daily workflows

Pupil dynamics and eye movements provide researchers with valuable information about perception, attention, and cognitive processing. Yet collecting these signals continuously during everyday activities remains challenging.

We aim to make these measurements more accessible through wearable technology, opening new possibilities for research and applications that depend on understanding how people respond to the world around them.

Our Team

Ellora McTaggart

Co-Founder & CEO, Biomedical Engineer

A graduate of the UNC/NCSU Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ellora built the earliest system prototypes as Laboratory Manager of the Pégard and Rodriguez-Romaguera labs. After validating the system capabilities, she deferred grad school to lead Carolina Instruments.

Ellora is a Abrams Scholarship recipient and a 2026 Bold Path Fellow.

Nicolas Pégard, PhD

Co-Founder, Optical Engineer

An optical engineer and researcher at UNC Chapel Hill, Dr. Pégard advises Carolina Instruments on optical engineering and sensing architecture.

Dr. Pégard is a Princeton alum, a Scientific Advisor to Science Corp., a Beckman Young Investigator, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, and a recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface.

Jose Rodriguez-Romaguera, PhD

Co-Founder, Behavioral Neuroscientist

A neuroscience researcher at UNC Chapel Hill, Dr. Rodriguez-Romaguera advises Carolina Instruments on translational applications of the technology, including the application of analytics related to brain function and behavior.

Dr. Rodriguez-Romaguera is a Brain and Behavior Foundation Young Investigator and a UNC Jefferson-Pilot Fellow.