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........ published in NEWSLETTER # 61

BIOMEDICAL OPTICAL INSTRUMENTATION AND LASER ASSISTED BIOTECHNOLOGY
by Professor A.M. Verga Scheggi, CNR, Florence (Italy)

This book (NATO ASI SERIES E325) provides a broad and representative coverage of the fields of laser techniques, optoelectronics systems for medical diagnosis, and light and laser applications to biology and medicine. The aim of the Institute of which this book represents the Proceedings was to bring together some of the world's acknowledged scientists and clinicians from different disciplines. Latest developments and emerging perspectives on the use of laser sources and optoelectronic techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes are reported. Progress in the medical use of laser light can only be achieved with systematic research on the understanding of the basic processes that regulate the interactions of optical radiation with living matter and of the subsequent photobiological events. Optoelectronic systems should be carefully developed to ensure optimized performance, and cooperation among scientists of numerous disciplines is an essential step towards this goal. Moreover, information on recent progress and potential of specific discoveries and/or achievements must be at the disposal of this community if it is to produce innovative systems and procedures of clinical utility in a timely manner. The chapters of this book have been organized by grouping the treated topics as follows:

1. Basic Physics of Light-Biomatter Interactions of Tissue Optics (4 chapters)
2. Light-Induced Effects in Biological Systems (4 chapters)
3. Optical Diagnostic Techniques and Instrumentation (9 chapters)
4. Optical Therapeutic Instrumentation and Applications (7 chapters)
5. Optical Tomography: Initial Applications in Bio-Medicine (2 chapters)
6. Optical Sensors and Applications (4 chapters)
7. Laser-Assisted Biotechnology (2 chapters)

The various parts of this volume offer a reasonably wide view of present uses of laser light in medicine, with several tutorial papers on physical and biological processes of fundamental relevance for clinical applications. These proceedings update and augment the material contained in a number of volumes previously published in and outside the NATO ASI SERIES.
Reference books: A34, A59, B252, E325

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