Biomedical optics applications of advanced lasers and nonlinear optics

Abstract

Significance: 2019 SPIE Photonics West conference hosted over 5000 presentations. Some important presentations in the Industrial Laser, Laser Source and Application (LASE) and Optoelectronics, Photonic Materials and Devices (OPTO) sections of the SPIE Photonics West conference have a risk of being overlooked by the biomedical community despite their implications for the field of biophotonics. We review some recent advances in the area of development coherent radiation sources in the infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), and terahertz (THz) regimes.Aim: Recent advances in coherent radiation sources in the IR, deep UV, and THz regimes were outlined, and the importance of each presentation to one or more promising biomedical applications was assessed.Approach: Presentations and proceedings from the LASE and OPTO sections were reviewed for inclusion. Emphasis was placed on talks from the Nonlinear Frequency Generation and Conversion: Materials and Devices XVIII conference, and the Terahertz, RF, Millimeter, and Submillimeter-Wave Technology and Applications XII conference. Conference sections that directly focused on biomedical applications were excluded.

The biological effects of terahertz wave radiation-induced injury on neural stem cells

“…A terahertz (THz) wave has a special frequency band in the entire electromagnetic spectrum; it is an electromagnetic wave with a radiation wavelength range of 30–3000 μm and a frequency of 0.1–10 THz. 1 , 2 , 3 In recent years, with the vigorous development of a variety of new THz sources and devices, it has been widely applied in various fields, including biology, 4 medicine, 5 , 6 military and security checks, 7 , 8 , 9 counterterrorism, 10 material structure detection, 11 communication, 12 remote sensing radar, 13 and data transmission. 14 In military affairs and security inspection, THz technology should be used for noncontact scanning and detection of hidden dangerous products, drugs, and weapons.…”