Biomedical optical imaging
Preface
Biomedical optics is a rapidly emerging field that relies on advanced technologies, which
give it high performance, and has important research, bio-industrial, and medical applications.
This book provides an overview of biomedical optical imaging with contributions
from leading international research groups who have pioneered many of its most important
methods and applications.
Optical imaging—performed with the powerful human eye–brain combination—was
probably the first method ever used for scientific investigation. In modern research, optical
imaging is unique in its ability to span the realms of biology from microscopic to macroscopic,
providing both structural and functional information and insights, with uses ranging
from fundamental to clinical applications.
Microscopy is an icon of the sciences because of its history, versatility, and universality.
Modern optical techniques such as confocal and multiphoton microscopy provide
subcellular- resolution imaging in biological systems. The melding of this capability with
exogenous chromophores can selectively enhance contrast for molecular targets as well
as provide functional information on dynamic processes, such as nerve transduction. New
methods integrate microscopy with other state-of-the-art technologies: nanoscopy, hyperspectral
imaging, nonlinear excitation microscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy,
and optical coherence tomography can provide dynamic, molecular-scale, and threedimensional
visualization of important features and events in biological systems. Moving
to the macroscopic scale, spectroscopic assessment and imaging methods based on properties
of light and its interaction with matter, such as fluorescence, reflectance, scattering,
polarization, and coherence can provide diagnostics of tissue pathology, including neoplastic
changes. Techniques that use long-wavelength photon migration allow noninvasive
exploration of processes that occur deep inside biological tissues and organs.
This book reviews the major thrust areas mentioned above, and will thus be suitable
both as a reference book for beginning researchers in the field, whether they are in the
realm of technology development or applications, and as a textbook for graduate courses
on biomedical optical imaging. The field of biomedical imaging is very broad, and many
excellent research groups are active in this area. Because this book is intended for a broader
audience than the optics community, its contents focus mainly on reviewing technologies
that are currently used in research, industry, or medicine, rather than those that are being
developed.
The chapters begin with an introductory review of basic concepts to establish a foundation
and to make the material more accessible to readers with backgrounds outside this field.
The book’s first section covers confocal, multiphoton, and spectral microscopy. Aside from
classic light microscopy, these are the most widely used high-resolution biomedical imaging
technologies to date. They have a significant base of commercially available instruments
and are used in a wide range of application fields such as cellular and molecular biology,
neurobiology, developmental biology, microbiology, pathology, and so forth. Confocal
microscopy enables the imaging of both structure and function on a cellular level. The
theoretical basis for optical imaging using confocal microscopy is well established and
relies primarily upon classic optics. Multiphoton microscopy relies on nonlinear absorption
of light, and provides deeper imaging than possible with confocal microscopy. By using
near-infrared excitation, it reduces cell injury, enabling improved imaging of living cells
and tissues. Spectral microscopy allows a quantitative analysis of cells and tissues based
on their topologically resolved spectral signatures, yielding classification abilities, similar
to those in satellite reconnaissance applications, to improve detection and diagnosis of
abnormalities.
The use of exogenous fluorescent markers enables highly specific imaging functional
processes and has been used broadly, especially in cell biology and neurobiology. Because
fluorophores are a major adjunct to confocal, multiphoton, and spectral microscopy, they are
covered next in the book, with chapters focusing on new probes and their use in monitoring
messenger RNA and electrical events in cells.
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Preface
Biomedical optics is a rapidly emerging field that relies on advanced technologies, which
give it high performance, and has important research, bio-industrial, and medical applications.
This book provides an overview of biomedical optical imaging with contributions
from leading international research groups who have pioneered many of its most important
methods and applications.
Optical imaging—performed with the powerful human eye–brain combination—was
probably the first method ever used for scientific investigation. In modern research, optical
imaging is unique in its ability to span the realms of biology from microscopic to macroscopic,
providing both structural and functional information and insights, with uses ranging
from fundamental to clinical applications.
Microscopy is an icon of the sciences because of its history, versatility, and universality.
Modern optical techniques such as confocal and multiphoton microscopy provide
subcellular- resolution imaging in biological systems. The melding of this capability with
exogenous chromophores can selectively enhance contrast for molecular targets as well
as provide functional information on dynamic processes, such as nerve transduction. New
methods integrate microscopy with other state-of-the-art technologies: nanoscopy, hyperspectral
imaging, nonlinear excitation microscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy,
and optical coherence tomography can provide dynamic, molecular-scale, and threedimensional
visualization of important features and events in biological systems. Moving
to the macroscopic scale, spectroscopic assessment and imaging methods based on properties
of light and its interaction with matter, such as fluorescence, reflectance, scattering,
polarization, and coherence can provide diagnostics of tissue pathology, including neoplastic
changes. Techniques that use long-wavelength photon migration allow noninvasive
exploration of processes that occur deep inside biological tissues and organs.
This book reviews the major thrust areas mentioned above, and will thus be suitable
both as a reference book for beginning researchers in the field, whether they are in the
realm of technology development or applications, and as a textbook for graduate courses
on biomedical optical imaging. The field of biomedical imaging is very broad, and many
excellent research groups are active in this area. Because this book is intended for a broader
audience than the optics community, its contents focus mainly on reviewing technologies
that are currently used in research, industry, or medicine, rather than those that are being
developed.
The chapters begin with an introductory review of basic concepts to establish a foundation
and to make the material more accessible to readers with backgrounds outside this field.
The book’s first section covers confocal, multiphoton, and spectral microscopy. Aside from
classic light microscopy, these are the most widely used high-resolution biomedical imaging
technologies to date. They have a significant base of commercially available instruments
and are used in a wide range of application fields such as cellular and molecular biology,
neurobiology, developmental biology, microbiology, pathology, and so forth. Confocal
microscopy enables the imaging of both structure and function on a cellular level. The
theoretical basis for optical imaging using confocal microscopy is well established and
relies primarily upon classic optics. Multiphoton microscopy relies on nonlinear absorption
of light, and provides deeper imaging than possible with confocal microscopy. By using
near-infrared excitation, it reduces cell injury, enabling improved imaging of living cells
and tissues. Spectral microscopy allows a quantitative analysis of cells and tissues based
on their topologically resolved spectral signatures, yielding classification abilities, similar
to those in satellite reconnaissance applications, to improve detection and diagnosis of
abnormalities.
The use of exogenous fluorescent markers enables highly specific imaging functional
processes and has been used broadly, especially in cell biology and neurobiology. Because
fluorophores are a major adjunct to confocal, multiphoton, and spectral microscopy, they are
covered next in the book, with chapters focusing on new probes and their use in monitoring
messenger RNA and electrical events in cells.
Download
*