Biomedical Optics
2009 Course Description

• June 24, Wednesday afternoon
  The Optics of Watching Live Cells, Prof. Edward Brown (Rochester):
  This lecture will cover optically-based spectroscopic sensing and diagnostic modalities with an emphasis on glucose monitoring. The lecture will primarily cover four optical modalities: infrared absorption, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and polarimetry. The overall objective of the lecture is to enable the participant to compare and contrast these four fundamental optical approaches for biomedical sensing and diagnostic applications.

• June 25, Thursday morning
  The Optics of Intrinsic Signals in the Brain, Prof. Karl Kasischke (Rochester):
  This session will introduce intravital optical imaging and non-linear microscopy of intrinsic signals such as oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin, fluorescent coenzymes, and second-harmonic generation from cellular filaments in the rodent brain. Starting with their molecular structure, the interaction of these signal sources with light will be examined. Then the interference of physiological and biochemical processes with these optical signals will be discussed. Finally, it will be demonstrated how these interactions can be utilized for the quantitative imaging of cellular signaling and metabolism in whole animals with wide-reaching applications in biomedical and biophysical research.

• June 25, Thursday afternoon
  The Optics of Turbid Tissues, Prof. Andrew Berger (Rochester):
  Photon transport in biological tissues can often be modeled with the mathematics of diffusion. In this lecture, the steady-state, time- and frequency-domain representations of optical diffusion theory will be introduced along with the general conditions under which these treatments are valid. We will review the principal near-infrared absorbers and scatterers in a variety of soft tissues, emphasizing those tissues, geometries, and wavelength regions in which optical diffusion may be exploited. In addition, we will consider applications of diffusion theory to spectroscopy and tomographic imaging of the breast and brain, with an emphasis on the various chromophores and scatterers that can be characterized via noninvasive spectroscopic techniques.

• June 26, Friday morning
  The Optics of Photodynamic Therapy, Prof. Thomas Foster (Rochester):
  Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a photochemical strategy for treating certain cancers, which has received limited regulatory agency approval in the US and elsewhere. It is also being actively explored in a variety of applications outside of cancer, including a form of macular degeneration, acne, and microbial infections. The mechanism of PDT is based on the optical excitation of chemical photosensitizers in the presence of oxygen. This session will review the photodynamic process and its consequences at the molecular, cellular, and whole body levels, with emphasis on optical monitoring using spectroscopy and imaging. The use of photodynamic action to investigate more fundamental questions in light scattering from cells will also be presented.

• June 26, Friday afternoon
  The Optics of Detecting Vulnerable Atherosclerotic Plaque, Dr. Edward Hull (InfraReDx, Inc.):
  This lecture will cover optically-based spectroscopic sensing and diagnostic modalities with an emphasis on glucose monitoring. The lecture will primarily cover four optical modalities: infrared absorption, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and polarimetry. The overall objective of the lecture is to enable the participant to compare and contrast these four fundamental optical approaches for biomedical sensing and diagnostic applications.