Biomedical Science & Medical Specialties

Biomedical science and medical specialties that rely heavily on biophotonics and optics include cell biology, cancer research and oncology, cardiology, neuroscience, dermatology, dentistry, genomics and proteomics, and molecular biology. Applications run the gamut from imaging of all kinds to disease diagnosis, noninvasive monitoring, and light-based therapy.

Biomedical Science & Medical Specialties Articles

OCT provides more detail inside carotid arteries

07/31/2012

Researchers at the University of Siena in Italy used optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the carotid arteries of carotid stent patients, thereby gaining more knowledge of cardiac disease and improving the stenting procedure.

Biolase opens corporate technology and training center

07/30/2012

Dental laser manufacturer and distributor Biolase has opened its technology and training center at its corporate headquarters in Irvine, CA.

Laser-activated resonator and nanostring creates chip-based optomechanical sensor

07/27/2012

Lausanne, Switzerland--EPFL scientists have developed a chip-based optomechanical sensor that they say could revolutionize sensing and atomic force microscopy.

The new brain probe tool uses fluorescence to illuminate cancerous brain tissue

Handheld fluorescent probe assists in brain cancer surgery

07/26/2012

The first of its kind to use fluorescence to distinguish cancerous tissue from normal tissue in low-grade brain tumors, researchers have developed a fluorescent probe that could help brain surgeons.

Pacific Biosciences, Imec to collaborate on single-molecule sequencing solution

07/25/2012

Genome sequencing technology developer and maker Pacific Biosciences (NASDAQ:PACB) and nanoelectronics research center Imec (Leuven, Belgium) will enter into a multi-year research collaboration focused on developing advanced microchips for highly multiplexed, single-molecule genetic analysis.

Femtosecond laser technology destroys cancerous tumors noninvasively

07/24/2012

Researchers at the Center for Laser Applications at the University of Tennessee Space Institute have developed a laser technology that finds, maps, and noninvasively destroys cancerous tumors.

SPIE establishes biophotonics technology development award

07/24/2012

SPIE has established a new award—the Biophotonics Technology Innovator award—which will honor extraordinary achievements in biophotonics technology development that show strong promise or potential impact.

A novel microscopy approach—fluorescence correlation spectroscopy coupled with calibrated imaging—revealed the number of Cse4 molecules within single centromeric nucleosomes over the course of the cell cycle

Microscopy method determines how centromere structure forms

07/20/2012

Scientists at the Stowers Institute of Medical Research have developed a microscopy method—pairing fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) with calibrated imaging—to count the number of fluorescent molecules in a cluster, and then determine how DNA twists into a unique chromosomal structure called the centromere.

Laser technique modifies surfaces to prevent the spread of bacteria

07/20/2012

Researchers are applying a laser technique to design nanostructured reliefs on surfaces so that they acquire antibacterial properties and are more resistant to the formation of bacterial biofilms.

Cynosure earns FDA clearance for at-home wrinkle treatment device

07/19/2012

Cynosure (NASDAQ: CYNO) has received FDA clearance to market a home-use, over-the-counter device for treating facial wrinkles.

Global biophotonics market should exceed $99B by 2018, says GIA

07/18/2012

Global Industry Analysts (GIA) recently released a global report on biophotonics markets, forecasting them to exceed $99 billion by the year 2018.

TeraView earns MHRA approval to conduct in-vivo clinical trials for cancer imaging

07/17/2012

Terahertz solutions and technology manufacturer TeraView has received approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to conduct in-vivo clinical trials for cancer research using the company's Terahertz Pulsed Imaging (TPI).

3D reconstruction of the bacterial biofilm made by cholera bacteria

Super-res microscopy method reveals cause of chronic infections

07/13/2012

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, using fluorescent labeling and employing super-resolution microscopy, discovered how many bacterial diseases attack, including cholera, lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients, and chronic sinusitis.

Carl Zeiss, Olympus enter licensing agreement for digital pathology patents

07/13/2012

Carl Zeiss Microscopy and Olympus America have entered into a nonexclusive worldwide licensing agreement that allows Carl Zeiss to access an extensive portfolio of patents held by Olympus in digital pathology and virtual microscopy.

OCT and microscopy combo enables accurate, noninvasive look at cancerous tumors

07/11/2012

Combining optical coherence tomography (OCT) and confocal microscopy could improve surgeries that remove malignant breast tumors, according to new research at Lehigh University.

Optical microscope with the world's fastest camera detects circulating cancer tumor cells

Flow-through optical microscope detects rogue cancer cells

07/11/2012

Knowing that the ability to distinguish and isolate rare cells from a large population of assorted cells is essential for early disease detection and disease monitoring, engineers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a new optical microscope that can detect circulating cancer tumor cells, which are precursors to metastasis (the spread of cancer).

Fractional ablative lasers minimize burn severity

07/06/2012

“…Fractional ablative lasers have become an amazing tool for correcting both the aesthetic and functionality issues presented by serious burn scars,” explains Jill Waibel, MD, medical director at Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute in a presentation at this year’s American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS) conference.

The photovoltaic retinal prosthesis array is shown implanted under the retina in a rat eye and higher magnification views show the array itself and a single pixel of the implant

ARTIFICIAL RETINAS: PV retinal prosthesis has high pixel density

07/05/2012

Even though age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa cause loss of ocular photoreceptors, most of the inner retinal neurons typically survive for a long time.

Plastic fiber is a Cerenkov radiation sensor that serves as a dosimeter for proton therapy; its output is linear with respect to dose

Fiber-optic Cerenkov radiation sensor gets dose for proton cancer therapy

07/03/2012

Researchers at Konkuk University and the National Cancer Center are using the Cerenkov radiation produced in plastic fibers as a signal.

High-performance lasers are promising and compact proton sources that could be used in future cancer therapies

Promising for cancer therapy, terawatt laser enables higher energies for particle acceleration

07/02/2012

Physicists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) directed light from the Dresden Laser Acceleration Source (DRACO) perpendicularly and obliquely onto a thin metal foil, allowing them to demonstrate for the first time that accelerated protons follow the direction of the laser light, which could be promising for cancer therapy.