Biophotonics

Biological systems can be studied by combining biology, physics, and engineering to learn about their interaction with light. This interdisciplinary field is called Biophotonics. 

It has a wide range of applications, including medical imaging, diagnostics and therapy. Biophotonics techniques can be used to image tissues and cells at high resolution, to detect and quantify biomolecules or to deliver light-based therapies to treat diseases.

Some of the most common biophotonics techniques include:

• Fluorescence microscopy: A technique that takes advantage of the natural fluorescence of biomolecules to image tissues and cells.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT): Is a non-invasive imaging test that uses light waves to provide two- and three-dimensional images of tissues, with micrometer-level depth resolution.
• Hyperspectral image analysis: Multispectral and Hyperspectral imaging are techniques that capture image data within specific wavelength ranges. This information can be used to identify materials or elements that are invisible to the human eye.

Biophotonics contributes to the way we diagnose and treat diseases. This field of work is currently used in optical imaging of cancer, light-based therapy for cancer or also, to quantify biomolecules in biological samples (biosensing), which can be used to diagnose diseases or track the progression of a disease.