Irving Bigio is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Boston University. His research activities address the interactions of light with cellular and tissue structures on the microscopic and mesoscopic scales. He pioneered methods of elastic scattering spectroscopy and has developed practical diagnostic and sensing applications that have been demonstrated in large clinical studies. He has co-authored over 200 scientific publications and is an inventor on nine patents. Sergio Fantini is Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. His research interests in biomedical optics are in the area of diffuse spectroscopy and imaging of biological tissue. He has contributed to the development of quantitative frequency-domain methods for absolute tissue oximetry, spectral imaging approaches to optical mammography, and the assessment of cerebral hemodynamics in the human brain. He has co-authored about 200 scientific publications and is an inventor on ten patents.

'Bigio and Fantini provide a long-needed introduction to the field of biomedical optics and biophotonics, adding spice to the presentation of the basics with historical and etymological gems. The conversational tone of the book is very welcome, and allows room for the clear explanation of subtleties not always clarified in other discussions. The book is a wonderful introduction to the field. It balances rigor with readability. Bravo!' Steven L. Jacques, Oregon Health Sciences University

• 1. Nomenclature; 2. Overview of tissue optical properties; 3. Introduction to biomedical statistics for diagnostic applications; 4. General concepts of tissue spectroscopy and instrumentation; 5. Autofluorescence spectroscopy and reporter fluorescence; 6. Raman and infrared spectroscopy of vibrational modes; 7. Elastic and quasi-elastic scattering from cells and small structures; 8. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy at small source-detector separations; 9. Transport theory and the diffusion equation; 10. Continuous-wave methods for tissue spectroscopy; 11. Time-domain methods for tissue spectroscopy in the diffusion regime; 12. Frequency-domain methods for tissue spectroscopy in the diffusion regime; 13. Instrumentation and experimental methods for diffuse tissue spectroscopy; 14. Diffuse optical imaging and tomography; 15. In vivo applications of diffuse optical spectroscopy and imaging; 16. Combining light and ultrasound: acousto-optics and opto-acoustics; 17. Modern optical microscopy for biomedical applications; 18. Optical coherence tomography; 19. Optical tweezers and laser-tissue interactions.

Irving Bigio is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Boston University. His research activities address the interactions of light with cellular and tissue structures on the microscopic and mesoscopic scales. He pioneered methods of elastic scattering spectroscopy and has developed practical diagnostic and sensing applications that have been demonstrated in large clinical studies. He has co-authored over 200 scientific publications and is an inventor on nine patents. Sergio Fantini is Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. His research interests in biomedical optics are in the area of diffuse spectroscopy and imaging of biological tissue. He has contributed to the development of quantitative frequency-domain methods for absolute tissue oximetry, spectral imaging approaches to optical mammography, and the assessment of cerebral hemodynamics in the human brain. He has co-authored about 200 scientific publications and is an inventor on ten patents.

'Bigio and Fantini provide a long-needed introduction to the field of biomedical optics and biophotonics, adding spice to the presentation of the basics with historical and etymological gems. The conversational tone of the book is very welcome, and allows room for the clear explanation of subtleties not always clarified in other discussions. The book is a wonderful introduction to the field. It balances rigor with readability. Bravo!' Steven L. Jacques, Oregon Health Sciences University

• 1. Nomenclature; 2. Overview of tissue optical properties; 3. Introduction to biomedical statistics for diagnostic applications; 4. General concepts of tissue spectroscopy and instrumentation; 5. Autofluorescence spectroscopy and reporter fluorescence; 6. Raman and infrared spectroscopy of vibrational modes; 7. Elastic and quasi-elastic scattering from cells and small structures; 8. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy at small source-detector separations; 9. Transport theory and the diffusion equation; 10. Continuous-wave methods for tissue spectroscopy; 11. Time-domain methods for tissue spectroscopy in the diffusion regime; 12. Frequency-domain methods for tissue spectroscopy in the diffusion regime; 13. Instrumentation and experimental methods for diffuse tissue spectroscopy; 14. Diffuse optical imaging and tomography; 15. In vivo applications of diffuse optical spectroscopy and imaging; 16. Combining light and ultrasound: acousto-optics and opto-acoustics; 17. Modern optical microscopy for biomedical applications; 18. Optical coherence tomography; 19. Optical tweezers and laser-tissue interactions.

Irving Bigio is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Boston University. His research activities address the interactions of light with cellular and tissue structures on the microscopic and mesoscopic scales. He pioneered methods of elastic scattering spectroscopy and has developed practical diagnostic and sensing applications that have been demonstrated in large clinical studies. He has co-authored over 200 scientific publications and is an inventor on nine patents. Sergio Fantini is Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. His research interests in biomedical optics are in the area of diffuse spectroscopy and imaging of biological tissue. He has contributed to the development of quantitative frequency-domain methods for absolute tissue oximetry, spectral imaging approaches to optical mammography, and the assessment of cerebral hemodynamics in the human brain. He has co-authored about 200 scientific publications and is an inventor on ten patents.

'Bigio and Fantini provide a long-needed introduction to the field of biomedical optics and biophotonics, adding spice to the presentation of the basics with historical and etymological gems. The conversational tone of the book is very welcome, and allows room for the clear explanation of subtleties not always clarified in other discussions. The book is a wonderful introduction to the field. It balances rigor with readability. Bravo!' Steven L. Jacques, Oregon Health Sciences University

• 1. Nomenclature; 2. Overview of tissue optical properties; 3. Introduction to biomedical statistics for diagnostic applications; 4. General concepts of tissue spectroscopy and instrumentation; 5. Autofluorescence spectroscopy and reporter fluorescence; 6. Raman and infrared spectroscopy of vibrational modes; 7. Elastic and quasi-elastic scattering from cells and small structures; 8. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy at small source-detector separations; 9. Transport theory and the diffusion equation; 10. Continuous-wave methods for tissue spectroscopy; 11. Time-domain methods for tissue spectroscopy in the diffusion regime; 12. Frequency-domain methods for tissue spectroscopy in the diffusion regime; 13. Instrumentation and experimental methods for diffuse tissue spectroscopy; 14. Diffuse optical imaging and tomography; 15. In vivo applications of diffuse optical spectroscopy and imaging; 16. Combining light and ultrasound: acousto-optics and opto-acoustics; 17. Modern optical microscopy for biomedical applications; 18. Optical coherence tomography; 19. Optical tweezers and laser-tissue interactions.