Overview of the field of biophotonics, in three segments: (1) fundamental principles of light, optics, lasers, biology, and medicine; (2) diagnostic biophotonics including imaging, spectroscopy, and optical biosensors; (3) therapeutic applications of biophotonics including laser ablation and photodynamic therapies. Reviews and presentations of current scientific literature by students. Tours of microscopy facilities. Course Information: Same as BIOE 467. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One of ECE 455, ECE 460, PHYS 402.

Biomedical Imaging, Bioengineering, and Acoustics

An overview of the field of biophotonics, divided into three segments: (1) fundamental principles of light, optics, lasers, biology, and medicine; (2) diagnostic biophotonics including imaging, spectroscopy, and optical biosensors; (3) therapeutic applications of biophotonics including laser ablation and photodynamic therapies. Includes student review and presentation of current scientific literature and tours of microscopy facilities.

Same as BIOE 467.

Same as BIOE 467.

This course is a technical elective for electrical engineering students, and is cross-listed with the Bioengineering Department as BIOE 467. This course is expected to draw students from multiple departments and colleges. This course summarizes the interdisciplinary field of Biophotonics and teaches the fundamentals and applications in three major areas. First, this course provides the fundamentals of light and matter, optics and optical imaging, lasers, cancer biology, pathology, and tissue histology, and tissue optical properties with light transport through biological tissue. Second, this course teaches the diagnostic applications of biophotonics, namely optical biomedical imaging and microscopy techniques, optical biosensors, contrast agents, and spectroscopy. Third, this course teaches the therapeutic applications of biophotonics, including the fundamentals and mechanisms of light-tissue interactions, of tissue ablation via photochemical, photothermal, and photomechanical processes, and photodynamic therapy.

A student completing this course should at a minimum be able to:

Fundamentals of Biophotonics

1. Understand the wave-particle nature of light, and explain the properties and generation of light in terms of waves and individual photons (1,2).
2. Explain principles of polarization, coherence, and time-frequency relationships of light (1).
3. Understand the optical components of various types of microscopes and how images of objects are formed (1,2,3).
4. Name and describe the types and origins of aberrations in microscope systems (1,2,4,6).
5. Understand the operation of lasers, and model resonators using the ABCD matrix formulism (1,2,3).
6. Understand basic molecular, cell, and tumor biology as it relates to biophotonics (1,5,6).
7. Understand the processes involved in cancer formation, growth, and metastases (1,6).
8. Describe the steps in the histological processing of tissues for microscopic visualization (1,2,3,4).
9. Recognize histological tissue sections and describe how their characteristics will alter light propagation (1).
10. Understand the optical properties of tissue, and the various light transport properties (1,2,3).

Diagnostic Biophotonics

1. Understand the fundamentals of spectroscopy, including elastic and inelastic scattering processes that alter incident light (1,2,3).
2. Describe the properties of fluorescent and bioluminescent probes for labeling cells for microscopy applications (1,2,3).
3. Understand different microscopy techniques, and how each can be used to visualize different parts of molecules, cells, and tissues (1,2,3,5,6).
4. Understand different non-fluorescent contrast agents, including nanoparticles, liposomes, and microspheres, and how these are used to improve optical imaging (1,2,3).
5. Describe the types of functionalization methods designed to chemically alter contrast agents for targeting specific receptors, cells, and tissues (1,2,3,5,7).
6. Explain the principles and operation of pulse oximetry (1,2).
7. Understand the use of optics in gene chip arrays, flow cytometry, and other biosensors (1,2,3,5,6).

Therapeutic Biophotonics

1. Understand the fundamentals of light-tissue interaction (1).
2. Describe and report the fundamental equations and governing factors for the three primary mechanisms of laser-light ablation: photochemical, photothermal, and photomechanical (1,2,3).
3. Understand the process and mechanisms for photodynamic therapy and how it is applied in medical applications (1,2,3,5,6,7).
4. Report specific medical and surgical applications for photodynamic therapy and laser ablation (4,5,6,7).
5. Understand the clinical process and standard of care for breast cancer screening, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring (4,5,6,7).
6. In Problem-Based Learning groups, evaluate and innovate the roles of biophotonics in breast cancer (4,5,6,7).
7. Review, critically evaluate, and orally present a PowerPoint presentation to the class on one selected journal article from the primary literature that reflects a topic from the course (4,5,6,7).

3/9/2018by Stephen Allen Boppart