From optical bioimaging to clinical biophotonics

Biophotonics is a rapidly emerging area of photonics, which offers novel tools for non-invasive diagnostics (including imaging modalities), therapy and surgery [1– 6]. Over the last decade, a number of biomedical optical techniques have been introduced into clinical practice thanks to their perceived safety and efficiency. Optical imaging modalities combine non-invasiveness with high spatial resolution and specificity, greatly benefiting from employing fluorescent agents and nanoparticles with high optical absorption. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) provides a high treatment efficacy and has only a weak impact on surrounding normal tissues resulting in an outstanding cosmetic outcome. Laser surgery ensures good functional results due to minimally invasive tissue removal. This special issue of Photonics & Lasers in Medicine features papers based on selected talks delivered at the conferences “Optical Bioimaging” and “Nanobiophotonics”, and at the satellite workshop on “Clinical Biophotonics” held at the 5th International Symposium “Topical Problems of Biophotonics”. The symposium takes place biannually in the Volga River region, and in 2015, it was organized by the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy and University of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. The symposium brought together 186 researchers from 18 countries to give nine plenary talks, 70 invited talks, 43 contributed papers, four sponsor presentations and 27 poster presentations. The aim of this special issue is to give an overview of the state-of-the-art development in optical biomedical imaging as well as the treatment techniques and their translation into clinical practice. It covers a wide range of problems in medical biophotonics varying from fundamental aspects of light-tissue interaction to principles of image formation and processing and the particular application of optical techniques and devices in the clinical environment. Special attention is given to PDT as it is one of the most promising techniques for cancer treatment. In a review article, Bown [7] highlights the state of the art and background of PDT for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, including the latest clinical studies in that area. A retrospective study is presented of the PDT of non-melanoma skin malignancies using fluorescence imaging monitoring by Gamayunov et al. [8]. Two preclinical studies focus on optically aided investigations of drugs for chemotherapy [9] and PDT [10].