applsci-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Spectroscopic Techniques in Biomedical Imaging and Analysis

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomedical Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2024 | Viewed by 4978

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life and Environmental, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Interests: vibrational spectroscopy; FTIR spectroscopy; Raman spectroscopy; chemometrics; spectropathology

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Interests: imaging analysis of tissues and cells; FTIR imaging spectroscopy; Raman microspectroscopy; microscopy; drug/cell interaction; microplastics

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
FOCAS Research Institute, Technological University Dublin, Dublin 8, Ireland
Interests: applications of spectroscopy and the study of molecular and nano-materials; recent activities have extended to biospectroscopy for diagnostics and biochemical analysis and nano-bio interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Physics and Clinical and Optometric Sciences, Technological University Dublin, City Campus, Dublin 8, Ireland
2. Radiation and Environmental Science Centre, Focas Research Institute, Technological University Dublin, Camden Row, Dublin 8, Ireland
Interests: low dose radiation; non-targeted effects; out of field effects; individual radiosensitivity; biophotonics for cancer diagnosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Spectroscopic techniques are emerging tools for application within the biomedical field, particularly in their imaging and microscopic set-ups, which allow for their extensive use for screening, diagnostics, and monitoring purposes. These techniques include hyperspectral imaging in the UV/visible/Near IR and mid-IR spectral regions, Raman spectroscopic Imaging, Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering, Tip Enhanced Raman Scattering, and emerging hybrid modes incorporating photoacoustic and photothermal effects.

The research collected and compiled in the present Special Issue will be focused on the application of such spectroscopic imaging and analysis techniques in order to obtain high-resolution biomedical images of cells and tissues, shedding new light on biological mechanisms, pathological processes, and the modes of drug and/or pathogen action. In vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo applications will be considered. Moreover, all research dedicated to image-processing software and approaches are welcomed.

Dr. Valentina Notarstefano
Dr. Elisabetta Giorgini
Prof. Dr. Hugh J. Byrne
Prof. Dr. Fiona Lyng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • UV/visible spectroscopy
  • near IR spectroscopy
  • fluorescence spectroscopy
  • vibrational spectroscopy
  • hyperspectral imaging
  • biomedical
  • imaging
  • diagnostic

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 2309 KiB  
Article
Impact of Long-Term Storage on Mid-Infrared Spectral Patterns of Serum and Synovial Fluid of Dogs with Osteoarthritis
by Sarah Malek, Federico Marini and J. T. McClure
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(16), 7213; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167213 - 16 Aug 2024
Viewed by 548
Abstract
Mid-infrared spectral (MIR) patterns of serum and synovial fluid (SF) are candidate biomarkers of osteoarthritis (OA). The impact of long-term storage on MIR spectral patterns was previously unknown. MIR spectra of canine serum (52 knee-OA, 49 control) and SF (51 knee-OA, 51 control) [...] Read more.
Mid-infrared spectral (MIR) patterns of serum and synovial fluid (SF) are candidate biomarkers of osteoarthritis (OA). The impact of long-term storage on MIR spectral patterns was previously unknown. MIR spectra of canine serum (52 knee-OA, 49 control) and SF (51 knee-OA, 51 control) were obtained after short-term and long-term storage in −80 °C. Multilevel simultaneous component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis were used to evaluate the effect of time and compare the performance of predictive models for discriminating OA from controls. The median interval of storage between sample measurements was 5.7 years. Spectra obtained at two time points were significantly different (p < 0.0001); however, sample aging accounted for only 1.61% and 2.98% of the serum and SF profiles’ variability, respectively. Predictive models for discriminating serum of OA from controls for short-term storage showed 87.3 ± 3.7% sensitivity, 88.9 ± 2.4% specificity, and 88.1 ± 2.3% accuracy, while for long-term storage, they were 92.5 ± 2.6%, 97.1 ± 1.7%, and 94.8 ± 1.4%, respectively. Predictive models of short-term stored SF spectra had 97.3 ± 1.6% sensitivity, 89.4 ± 2.6% specificity, and 93.4 ± 1.6% accuracy, while for long-term storage they were 95.7 ± 2.1%, 95.7 ± 0.8%, and 95.8 ± 1.1%, respectively. Long-term storage of serum and SF resulted in significant differences in MIR spectral variables without significantly altering the performance of predictive algorithms for discriminating OA from controls. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectroscopic Techniques in Biomedical Imaging and Analysis)
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 3165 KiB  
Article
Design of a Dispersive 1064 nm Fiber Probe Raman Imaging Spectrometer and Its Application to Human Bladder Resectates
by Juan David Muñoz-Bolaños, Tanveer Ahmed Shaik, Arkadiusz Miernik, Jürgen Popp and Christoph Krafft
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 4726; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14114726 - 30 May 2024
Viewed by 903
Abstract
This study introduces a compact Raman spectrometer with a 1064 nm excitation laser coupled with a fiber probe and an inexpensive motorized stage, offering a promising alternative to widely used Raman imaging instruments with 785 nm excitation lasers. The benefits of 1064 nm [...] Read more.
This study introduces a compact Raman spectrometer with a 1064 nm excitation laser coupled with a fiber probe and an inexpensive motorized stage, offering a promising alternative to widely used Raman imaging instruments with 785 nm excitation lasers. The benefits of 1064 nm excitation for biomedical applications include further suppression of fluorescence background and deeper tissue penetration. The performance of the 1064 nm instrument in detecting cancer in human bladder resectates is demonstrated. Raman images with 1064 nm excitation were collected ex vivo from 10 human tumor and non-tumor bladder specimens, and the results are compared to previously published Raman images with 785 nm excitation. K-Means cluster (KMC) analysis is used after pre-processing to identify Raman signatures of control, tumor, necrosis, and lipid-rich tissues. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) groups the KMC centroids of all specimens as input. The tools for data processing and hyperspectral analysis were compiled in an open-source Python library called SpectraMap (SpMap). In spite of lower spectral resolution, the 1064 nm Raman instrument can differentiate between tumor and non-tumor bladder tissues in a similar way to 785 nm Raman spectroscopy. These findings hold promise for future clinical hyperspectral Raman imaging, in particular for specimens with intense fluorescence background, e.g., kidney stones that are discussed as another widespread urological application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectroscopic Techniques in Biomedical Imaging and Analysis)
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 13246 KiB  
Article
Single-Image Multi-Parametric Representation of Optical Properties through Encodings to the HSV Color Space
by Verónica Mieites, José A. Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, José M. López-Higuera and Olga M. Conde
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14010155 - 23 Dec 2023
Viewed by 961
Abstract
The visualization of 2D clinical data often relies on color-coded images, but different colormaps can introduce cognitive biases, impacting result interpretation. Moreover, when using color for diagnosis with multiple biomarkers, the application of distinct colormaps for each parameter can hinder comparisons. Our aim [...] Read more.
The visualization of 2D clinical data often relies on color-coded images, but different colormaps can introduce cognitive biases, impacting result interpretation. Moreover, when using color for diagnosis with multiple biomarkers, the application of distinct colormaps for each parameter can hinder comparisons. Our aim was to introduce a visualization technique that utilizes the hue (H), saturation (S), and value (V) in a single image to convey multi-parametric data on various optical properties in an effective manner. To achieve this, we conducted a study involving two datasets, one comprising multi-modality measurements of the human aorta and the other featuring multiple parameters of dystrophic mice muscles. Through this analysis, we determined that H is best suited to emphasize differences related to pathology, while V highlights high-spatial-resolution data disparities, and color alterations effectively indicate changes in chemical component concentrations. Furthermore, encoding structural information as S and V within the same image assists in pinpointing the specific locations of these variations. In cases where all data are of a high resolution, H remains the optimal indicator of pathology, ensuring results’ interpretability. This approach simplifies the selection of an appropriate colormap and enhances the ability to grasp a sample’s characteristics at a single glance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectroscopic Techniques in Biomedical Imaging and Analysis)
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2502 KiB  
Article
Novel Insights from Fourier-Transform InfraRed Imaging on the Morpho-Chemical Profile of Human Corpus Callosum
by Alessia Belloni, Eva Montanari, Andrea Sagrati, Teresa Lorenzi, Aurora Balloni, Francesco Paolo Busardò, Valentina Notarstefano, Mara Fabri and Elisabetta Giorgini
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(6), 3954; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063954 - 20 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1491
Abstract
The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest interhemispheric commissure of the mammalian brain, and it includes axons, cortical neurons, and glial cells. It is mainly composed of myelin, a lipidic sheath which is produced by glial cell membranes; myelin is wrapped up around [...] Read more.
The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest interhemispheric commissure of the mammalian brain, and it includes axons, cortical neurons, and glial cells. It is mainly composed of myelin, a lipidic sheath which is produced by glial cell membranes; myelin is wrapped up around axons and plays a fundamental role in the fast conduction of neuronal electrical signals. The human CC is divided into various anatomical regions, with different axonal composition, including, from front to back, genu, body or trunk, isthmus, and splenium. Corpus callosum undergoes some alterations not only in the presence of specific physiological and pathological conditions, but also because of aging. For the first time, in the present study a hyperspectral imaging analysis of human corpus callosum was performed. The study, carried out on CC autopsy samples collected from human adult males of different ages, was focused mainly on the genu and splenium regions. By combining Fourier-transform infrared imaging and histological analyses with multivariate and univariate ones, the macromolecular composition of these regions was defined, and age-related alterations in the lipid and protein components were identified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectroscopic Techniques in Biomedical Imaging and Analysis)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Spectroscopic techniques are emerging tools for applications in the biomedical field, in particular, in their imaging and microscopic set-ups, which allow exploitation of them for screening, diagnostics, and monitoring purposes. These techniques include hyperspectral imaging in the UV/visible/Near IR and mid-IR spectral regions, Raman spectroscopic Imaging, Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering, Tip Enhanced Raman Scattering, and emerging hybrid modes incorporating photoacoustic and photothermal effects.

The research works collected in the present Special Issue will be focused on the application of such spectroscopic imaging and analysis techniques to obtain high-resolution biomedical images of cells and
tissues, able to shed new light on biological mechanisms, pathological processes, and modes of action of drugs and/or pathogens. In vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo applications will be considered. Moreover, research
works dedicated to image processing software and approaches are welcomed.
Back to TopTop