Quantitative Biomedical Optics: Theory, Methods, and Applications

This is the textbook and reference resource that instructors, students, and researchers in biomedical optics have been waiting for. Comprehensive and up to date, it covers a broad range of areas in biomedical optics, from light interactions at the single-photon and single-biomolecule levels, to the diffusion regime of light propagation in tissue. Subjects covered include spectroscopic techniques (fluorescence, Raman, infrared, near-infrared, and elastic scattering), imaging techniques (diffuse optical tomography, photoacoustic imaging, several forms of modern microscopy, and optical coherence tomography), and laser-tissue interactions, including optical tweezers. Topics are developed from the fundamental principles of physical science, with intuitive explanations, while rigorous mathematical formalisms of theoretical treatments are also provided. For each technique, descriptions of relevant instrumentation and examples of biomedical applications are outlined, and each chapter benefits from references and suggested resources for further reading, and exercise problems with answers to selected problems.

About the Author

Irving Bigio is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Boston University. His research activities address the interactions of light with cellular and tissue structures on the microscopic and mesoscopic scales. He pioneered methods of elastic scattering spectroscopy and has developed practical diagnostic and sensing applications that have been demonstrated in large clinical studies. He has co-authored over 200 scientific publications and is an inventor on nine patents.

Sergio Fantini is Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. His research interests in biomedical optics are in the area of diffuse spectroscopy and imaging of biological tissue. He has contributed to the development of quantitative frequency-domain methods for absolute tissue oximetry, spectral imaging approaches to optical mammography, and the assessment of cerebral hemodynamics in the human brain. He has co-authored about 200 scientific publications and is an inventor on ten patents.