Optical spectroscopy for tissue diagnostics

Abstract: Biomedical Optics as an interdisciplinary field of science has been developed during many years and is experiencing tremendous growth, to cover a wide range of optical techniques and methods, utilized for medical therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Biomedical optics contributes in the introducing methods and creation of devices used in healthcare of various specialties, such as ophthalmology, cardiology, surgery, dermatology, oncology, radiology, etc. Each of these specialities might take advantages of different optical techniques and methods such as: laser surgery, optical thermotherapy, optical tomography and imaging, optical biopsies, photodynamic therapy, in vitro diffuse spectroscopy, etc1. Among all of the mentioned methods and techniques; medical applications of in vitro diffuse spectroscopy is the main topic covered by the projects presented in this book. This thesis is presented in two parts. Part one, consists of four chapters as an introduction to the scientific works that are presented in three original papers in part two. Part one, covers areas that might not have been explicitly apparent in the papers, but have formed a basis needed to interpret data, and to understand the background for the various studied phenomena.