Microoptics play a critical role in improving biomedical applications—and are now enabling new advances in life sciences. Systems designers must understand their operation and application to leverage the advantages they offer.

A high-performance, low-cost system that combines two optical approaches for simultaneous application in dynamic brain imaging promises exciting insight for preclinical, and eventually for clinical, work.

A biosensor able to identify the smallest single virus particles (each just 6 attograms) hopes to revolutionize early disease diagnosis by providing results within minutes at the point of care.

An innovation in optical microscopy substrate has enabled a discovery that overturns scientific assumption and provides insight into the way bacteria move.

Intraoperative imaging using near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence has the potential to revolutionize cancer surgery—especially when targeted contrast agents and optimized camera systems become available.

A fast, noninvasive 3D microscopy approach has proven able to visualize, quantify, and study cells without the use of fluorescence or contrast agents, according to scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

An interdisciplinary team of European researchers have created a tabletop solid-state laser system that claims to cut brain tissue with unprecedented precision.

A new optical instrument has proven able to detect circulating "rogue" cells that are precursors to tumor metastasis, among other applications.

In a pilot study, David Roberts, chief of neurosurgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, operated on 10 patients with gliomas using a new tool designed to highlight the tumors.

Researchers at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) have developed an ultra-sensitive biosensor capable of identifying the smallest single virus particles in solution, which could advance early disease detection at the point-of-care and cut waiting for test results from weeks to minutes.

Researchers at the London Centre for Nanotechnology, led by Bart Hoogenboom, Ph.D., have used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to capture the first images of DNA's double helix in water.

Columbia University researchers have developed a noninvasive optical imaging device that could ease diagnosis and monitoring of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which is a serious complication of diabetes.

Researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) have devised a label-free microscopy technique for examining the binding kinetics of membrane proteins on the surface of a cell.

PerkinElmer has entered into a collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Pathology Department and Cancer Center to develop a next-generation sequencing (NGS) informatics system for profiling genetic changes in tumors.

Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology have developed a method that uses a laser beam to fix biological molecules at exactly the right position in a 3D material, and on a micrometer scale.

Each year, the Frontiers in Optics (FiO) meeting (Rochester, NY; October 14–18, 2012) reports R&D advances across multiple disciplines—and biomedical optics is a perennial favorite.

Leica Biosystems has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aperio, a digital pathology solutions company.

Two researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are developing a noninvasive optical method for regulating the motion of cells.

Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have observed for the first time how a laser penetrates dense, electron-rich plasma to generate ions. The process has applications for developing next-generation particle accelerators and new cancer treatments.