The development of novel photonics based techniques for biomedicine

Abstract

The advances in technology capable of measuring various optical properties within organic materials and tissues have paved way for potentially revolutionary methods of detecting and diagnosing diseases as well as generally monitoring health. Thus, this thesis provides a background on a number of key optical properties crucial in organic tissues and describes how such properties can currently be detected and observed.The thesis looks at a diverse selection of conditions and health-monitoring challenges to determine the effectiveness of non- and minimally invasive diagnostics. Urinary bladder cancer and a computational Monte Carlo model are described in an effort to predict the effectiveness of such diagnostics tools as well as aid in the overall detection of cancer within the organ. Beginning from porcine bladder, the model is advanced to function with human biopsy samples.Furthermore, the thesis covers cardiovascular disease (CVD), specifically pre-eclampsia.Tools used for human analysis are tested on animal CVD models and ultimately employed to display their effectiveness at monitoring diseased mice from an established murine model. The thesis also presents potential parameters vital for diagnostics purposes.Using the established parameters of interest from the above work, the thesis describes measurement of physiological (photonics based diagnostics) and psychological (reaction time assessment) effects resulting from short-term light exposure. Due to the frequency at which non natural light interacts with people on a day-to-day basis, the thesis provides a basis to further expand health-monitoring research.Finally, potential methods for assessing ocular health in the form of contact lens induced discomfort is assessed through objective analysis by photonics based techniques. The thesis also establishes a validation for the proposed approach.Ultimately, the work presented in the thesis describes how novel photonics based technologies can be effectively employed in a wide variety of biomedical diagnostics and monitoring applications, whether used alone or in conjunction with other forms of diagnostics.