Bio Photonics Research

  Researchers led by UCLA professor Aydogan Ozcan developed a  deep learning -enabled biosensor for multiplexed, point-of-care (POC) testing of disease biomarkers. POC biosensors provide remote and resource-limited communities with an economical, practical alternative to centralized laboratory testing. The UCLA-developed POC sensor includes a paper-based  fluorescence  vertical flow assay to simultaneously detect three biomarkers of acute coronary syndrome from human serum samples. The vertical flow assay is processed by a low-cost mobile reader, which quantifies the target biomarkers through trained neural networks. According to the researchers, the competitive performance of the multiplexed computational fluorescence vertical flow assay, along with its inexpensive, paper-based design and hand-held footprint, give the POC sensor promise as a platform to expand access to diagnostics in resource-limited settings. “Compared to a commonly used linear calibration method,...

Pensievision, a creator of 3D imaging technology for industrial applications and medical devices, received the Company of the Year Award at the Luminate NY Finals 2025, held this week in Rochester. Along with the title, the company received a $1 million investment from New York State through the Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative. Pensievision's solution delivers 3D imaging for demanding environments, from medical diagnostics and factory floors to orbital missions. Its technology combines a miniaturized single-lens setup, artificial intelligence, and astronomy-inspired optics to enable high-precision insights in tight or complex environments where bulky, multi-lens or laser-based systems fail. “It’s a compact, affordable camera that does very high-accuracy 3D mapping of surfaces, and it’s compact enough that it can fit on anything from a robotic arm to an endoscope that goes inside the body,” said Pensievision CTO Joseph Carson. The technology has been demonstr...

Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed an optical alternative to immunoassays and other methods used for protein analysis. The alternative method provides rapid, highly sensitive detection of proteins through laser irradiation. According to the researchers, the light-induced acceleration-based technique could improve detection limit and quantitative measurement, using a small number of biological samples and a simple process, to aid in the ultra-early diagnosis of cancer, dementia, and infectious diseases. Conventional techniques for protein detection, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), require several hours and involve multiple steps, in addition to being less sensitive than the recently developed light-induced method. In experiments, the researchers showed a successful deployment of their approach using only three minutes of laser irradiation. They achieved a sensitivity and ultrafast specific detection more than 100× that obtained in comparison...

  Researchers at the University of Arizona will pursue the development of optical imaging technologies capable of deeper, clearer views into biological tissues, such as skin or soft tissue linings within the body. Led by Florian Willomitzer and Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski, the team is one of just four groups nationwide to receive funding through the Advancing Non-Invasive Optical Imaging Approaches for Biological Systems initiative. The group will receive nearly $2.7 million from the National Institute of Health (NIH)’s Common Fund Venture Program. The final award amount is pending successful completion of milestones and availability of funds. The team's noninvasive approach is based on synthetic wavelength imaging (SWI), which uses two separate illumination wavelengths to computationally generate one virtual, “synthetic” imaging wavelength. Due to the longer, synthetic wavelength, the signal is more resistant to light scattering inside tissue. At the same time, researchers can tak...

  The versatility and precision of hyperspectral imaging make it an indispensable tool in numerous scientific and industrial applications, from medical imaging to environmental monitoring to quality control. But traditional hyperspectral imaging systems can be costly, cumbersome, and challenging to scale. A computational spectral imaging system from the University of Utah provides a fast, inexpensive, efficient alternative to capturing high-quality spectral data. The system, which the team tested across biomedical, food-quality, and astronomical use cases, could establish a new framework for high-speed, high-fidelity spectral imaging with broad translational potential. The system uses a diffractive filter array to project spectral information into the spatial domain, enabling the capture of a single-channel, 2D image that contains both spatial and spectral data. This 2D image, called a diffractogram, is computationally decoded to reconstruct a spectral image cube with 25 spectral ...

         A newly-developed, handheld optical sensor could make Alzheimer’s disease easier to detect in its early stages, when treatments for the disease are most effective. The photonic resonant sensor is the result of a collaboration among researchers at the University of York, the University of Strathclyde, and the University of São Paulo. The team developed a sensor that can simultaneously detect two of the amyloid peptides that are indicators for Alzheimer’s, at the levels clinically required for diagnosis. The capability to simultaneously detect beta amyloid 40 and beta amyloid 42 in the blood opens a route to quantifying and analyzing their ratio, enabling the progression of the disease to be tracked. Single biomarker detection is insufficient for clinical diagnosis. Photonic resonant sensors allow for the label-free detection of specific molecules, in addition to surface imaging and the multiplexing of different biomarkers. They are compatible with low-c...

Use of mouse models to test new interventions for Alzheimer’s disease is a cornerstone of Alzheimer’s disease therapeutic development. Current preclinical evaluation of Alzheimer’s disease pathology relies mostly on post-mortem analyses of animal models, which limits researchers’ ability to follow the progression of the disease or the efficacy of treatments over time. In search of a method to observe the development of the disease and its response to therapies in real-time, researchers at the University of Strathclyde and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) investigated fiber photometry , an optical approach to monitoring neural activity in live animals. The researchers expanded the capabilities of in vivo fiber photometry, using it to examine the pathological features of an AD mouse model in a freely behaving condition. This approach to could help researchers uncover information about how Alzheimer's disease develops and enable more flexible testing of potential therapies. ...

Collaborators from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Brown University have described a microscopy technique and set of protocols that overcome a bottleneck to the expansion microscopy method. The collaborators developed “Magnify” as a variant of expansion microscopy that uses a hydrogel that retains a spectrum of biomolecules, offers a broader application to a variety of tissues, and increases the expansion up to 11× times linearly or approximately 1300 folds of the original volume. Through the expansion microscopy process, samples are embedded in a swellable hydrogel that homogenously expands to increase the distance between molecules, which allows them to be observed in greater resolution. This allows nanoscale biological structures that previously could be viewed only via expensive high-resolution imaging techniques to be seen with standard microscopy tools. In addition, the researchers said in their paper, “Current expansion microscopy protocols requi...

Imaging through a light-scattering medium, such as clouds in the sky or tissues in the body, poses special challenges. The scattered light must be reconstructed, typically by using complex optical elements in an environment that is vulnerable to motion and mechanical instability. Computational algorithms are then able to post-process the detected light to generate an image. A new approach to imaging reconstruction, developed by researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the Xiong’an Institute of Innovation, uses speckles to enable clear images of obscured objects, whether static or moving, to be produced in real time. Previous strategies for reconstructing scattered light have required some knowledge of the object and the ability to control the wavefront of light illuminating it. These strategies have not used directly obtained random speckle patterns for imaging, due to degradation and scattering. Rather, speckles have been seen as noise or chaotic ...

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is one of the most common ocular disorders worldwide and a leading cause of visual impairment in children. Although specialized eyeglass lenses have been clinically tested to treat myopia progression, an in-depth optical characterization of the lenses has not yet been performed. Researchers from the ZEISS Vision Science Lab at the University of Tübingen and the University of Murcia undertook a comprehensive characterization to investigate the properties of spectacle lenses designed to slow the progress of myopia. The results of their study could help increase the efficacy of future lens designs. Myopia is typically caused when a person’s eyes become elongated, which affects how the eyes focus on faraway objects. The condition can progress in children and teens as their bodies grow. To reproduce pupil shape and myopic ocular aberrations, researchers developed an instrument that reproduced the aberrations in myopic eyes and enabled physical simulation of the...

TiHive, a company focused on terahertz -AI vision systems, has raised €8 million ($9.3 million) to accelerate growth and expand internationally. The company’s technology combines industrial-grade, silicon-based terahertz imaging devices and AI to enable real-time, non-destructive, see-through quality and process control on production lines. The company said the funding will support the commercialization of its industrial vision solutions, reinforce international deployment — particularly in hygiene, textiles, recycling, agriculture, and space industries — and accelerate R&D. The company aims to develop a new generation of terahertz chips with extended frequencies and advanced AI features. TiHive’s systems are integrated directly on production lines and connected to the machines and to the cloud, measuring the quality and the process stability of thousands of products every minute. The technology platform uses CMOS technology, paired with advanced THz optics and an AI-powered soft...

In cell biology and medical imaging, the targeted manipulation of cells under controlled conditions is a major challenge in understanding processes and causal relationships. Researchers are dependent on tools that enable them to manipulate individual components of a cell in order to explore their effects on intracellular mechanisms and interactions. However, a common problem with conventional methods of cell manipulation is that the sample is disturbed by the manipulation and the results are therefore compromised. A laser technology developed by researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics makes it possible to influence and specifically control movements within living cells and embryos. The technology, called Focused Light-Induced Cytoplasmic Streaming (FLUCS), can be used to help better understand embryonic developmental disorders. Further, the FLUCS method allows noninvasive manipulation of cells — for example, in developmental biology. As an addit...

Early-stage disease diagnosis relies on the highly sensitive detection of biomarkers , such as optical whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microcavity sensors; such devices provide precise, label-free biosensing. However, scaling and integrating large-scale arrayed WGM microcavity sensors is challenging. Bottlenecks in sensor design can lead to these bottlenecks. In response, researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University developed a 3D micro-printed WGM micro-laser sensor for sensitive on-chip biosensing. The developed sensor, a limacon-shaped WGM micro-laser sensor, was created using flexible micro-printing technology with the optical advantages of WGM micro-lasers. In the device, optical WGM micro-laser sensors circulate light resonantly within tiny microcavities. Experimental results highlighted the potential of the device for ultralow-limit detection of biomarkers in early disease diagnosis. When target molecules bind to the cavity’s surface, they induce slight changes in the laser’s...

  Microscopy samples are seldom completely flat across a centimeter-scale field of view . Mechanical scanning can keep all the parts of a large sample in focus, but scanning reduces throughput, slowing the imaging process. To help large-area microscopy systems resolve trade-offs between field of view, resolution, and imaging speed, a team at Duke University developed a single-shot, re-imaging microscope that achieves seamless, gigapixel imaging over a 16.3 x 18.8 square millimeter (mm2) field of view, at 0.84-µm half-pitch resolution, without mechanical scanning. The microscope, which the researchers call PANORAMA, could enhance imaging applications for biological research and medical diagnostics, as well for industrial inspection and quality control. “This tool can be used wherever large-area, detailed imaging is needed,” researcher Haitao Chen said. “For instance, in medical pathology, it could scan entire tissue slides, such as those from a biopsy, at cellular resolution almos...

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer screening by endoscopy has improved localized cancer prognosis and diagnosis rate. Still, conventional GI endoscopy misses about 8-11% of tumors, due to lack of visibility during upper GI endoscopic exams. One possible way to increase the sensitivity of endoscopic examinations is by using hyperspectral imaging techniques. Hyperspectral imaging captures images across discrete, narrowband wavelength channels, including wavelengths beyond the visible. By analyzing how cells reflect and absorb light across the electromagnetic spectrum, the technique enable users to acquire a unique spectral fingerprint of each cell in a tissue sample. To improve endoscopic imaging and detect cancers at an earlier stage, a team led by professor Baowei Fei at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) developed an LED-based, real-time hyperspectral imaging device for endoscopes. The researchers designed a prototype based on a monochrome, micro-digital camera and a multiwavelength ...