Bio-medical sensing is a dynamic topic that promises to deliver much in the future evolution of medical diagnostics. Biomedical sensors also provide tools for fundamental research in biology at the micrometre and nanometre scales. Point-of-care diagnosis, 2D and 3D imaging, research on immunological processes/reactions in human beings and mammals more generally, drug detection and food safety are all areas that are affected and enhanced by the widespread advent of biomedical sensing technology and techniques. There is currently a large amount of research and development in the area of integrated optical sensors. Three broad approaches can be identified in the domain of photonic bio-medical sensing: a) Fluorescent labeling and characteristic fluorescence, b) label-free sensing based on refractive index change and specific binding, c) Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The use of light in bio-medical sensing brings a number of potential advantages. Photonic techniques are non-invasive, and provide versatility – and also can confer the ability to probe, with high spatial resolution, into otherwise inaccessible regions of biological moieties. Valid information can be accessed photonically in situations that can be considered as either in-vivo or in-vitro. This book provides wide-ranging coverage of current developments in bio-medical sensing based on photonic techniques. It explores a variety of alternative physical and biological methodologies that have become available for application. At the same time, it addresses issues that potentially limit the capability of bio-medical optical sensing techniques. The state-of-the-art in bio-medical optical sensing is reviewed and pointers for the future work that will lead to near-universal applications of such techniques are provide.weiterlesen