Biophotonics innovators Ji-Xin Cheng, Igor Lednev, and Wouter Charle keynote; sessions cover cellular dynamics and therapeutic potential.

Leading practitioners across the spectrum of innovation in biophotonics technology will spotlight the field’s rapidly advancing landscape in the BioPhotonics Conference taking place October 24-26. The online showcase features sessions from technology developers and instrument manufacturers spanning the industry, academia, and research communities.

Luminary figures, as well as startup companies and established players, are among those that comprise this year’s program. Sessions will focus on trends in microscopy, imaging, and spectroscopy in specific program tracks. Selected topics include live-cell and deep learning-enabled imaging, digital chemical histopathology, photoacoustic spectroscopy, and biometrology and fluorescence techniques.

Keynotes explore advancements in methods, instrumentation

Three technology tracks, one on each day of the conference, kick off on October 24. Developments in the speed and adaptability of microscopy will take center stage on the first day.

A keynote session from Ji-Xin Cheng, professor at the Boston University College of Engineering, will discuss the evolution of mid-infrared photothermal (MIP) microscopy. Since the technique’s debut in 2018, it has found application throughout biomedicine and materials science. Cheng, whose group demonstrated depth-resolved MIP live-cell imaging in 2016, has advanced the pump-probe microscopy imaging technology in three modalities. The keynote will introduce these modalities, including MIP tomography for high-speed volumetric bond-selective imaging, which produces a resolution that rivals fluorescence microscopy.

In the Spectroscopy track on October 25, Igor Lednev, a professor in the department of chemistry at University at Albany, will deliver the keynote discussing the combination of Raman hyperspectroscopy and machine learning for Alzheimer’s disease screening. Lednev will discuss the development of a novel, noninvasive approach for Alzheimer’s disease diagnostics based on Raman spectroscopy of three biofluids. Lednev, recipient of last year’s Charles Mann Award for Applied Raman Spectroscopy from the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies, will introduce the potential for screening approaches using near-infrared Raman hyperspectroscopy for diagnostics as well as disease progression and monitoring.

Wouter Charle, program manager for hyperspectral imaging at the Belgian R&D institution imec, presents the final keynote of the BioPhotonics Conference in the Imaging track on October 26. Charle’s “Chip-Based Spectral Imaging Integrated into Biomedical Instruments” session will introduce and offer insights into the quest to bring spectral imaging on-chip. Incorporating thin-film spectral filters directly onto the pixels of commercial image sensors offers performance improvements in comparison to traditional spectral systems based on push-broom liquid crystal tunable filters, which require specific configurations. Use cases range from diagnosing brain cancer to noninvasive direct flow measurements during coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

Influential names

Returning and first-time presenters will provide the latest updates on existing technologies, as well as introductions to trends in devices, techniques, and implementation. Aydogan Ozcan and Jürgen Popp will return to present on virtual staining of label-free tissue using deep learning, and the combination of spectroscopic techniques and AI for selective tumor removal, respectively. They will be joined by Rohit Bhargava (University of Illinois) and Kayla Hess (Vanderbilt University) in the Spectroscopy track; Kevin Tsia (University of Hong Kong) and Roger Zemp (University of Alberta) in the Microscopy track; and Joshua Herzog (University of Michigan) and Miguel Pleitez (Technical University of Munich) in the Imaging track.

In addition to prominent names in research, companies such as Hamamatsu Photonics, Ocean Insight/Ocean Optics, Kernel, DRS Daylight Solutions, HySpex, and MKS Ophir will discuss topics in all three trends. Laser-, optics-, and sensor-based use cases will feature on all three program days.

Register now

Registration for the 2023 BioPhotonics Conference is open now. Visit www.photonics.com/bpc2023 to reserve your spot and see updates and information. A preview of the program follows.

Ji-Xin Cheng, Boston University

---

More than 35 sessions on microscopy, spectroscopy, and imaging will be available October 24-26 during the BioPhotonics Conference. (From left) Ji-Xin Cheng, Igor Lednev, and Wouter Charle have featured keynotes in the program. Registration is free for the event.

---