Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Contex: Optical biopsy, an innovative and interdisciplinary approach leveraging light-tissue interaction, holds significant potential to revolutionize medical diagnostics. This study explores the fundamental physical and biological principles underlying this approach, including light absorption, scattering, reflection, and fluorescence by endogenous and exogenous chromophores and fluorophores. Evidence Acquisition: Key optical biopsy techniques, including fluorescence, Raman, and reflectance/absorbance spectroscopies, are detailed. Furthermore, advanced optical imaging methods such as confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography (OCT), multi/hyperspectral imaging, and advanced optical endoscopy are systematically reviewed. Results: The analysis highlights broad clinical applications in early cancer detection (skin, gastrointestinal, respiratory, cervical, and other organs), non-cancerous diseases (inflammation, infection, wound monitoring), and intraoperative guidance. Despite advantages like non-invasiveness and real-time diagnosis, limitations such as limited light penetration depth, complexity of data interpretation, and the inability to fully replace histopathology remain significant challenges. Conclusion: The future outlook is highly promising, driven by the development of portable instruments, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, and multimodal approaches. This article concludes that optical biopsy will play a pivotal role as a powerful complementary tool in enhancing disease diagnosis and management in the future.
Author: saleheh beheshtipour
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7118891228
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