• Notes on lasers and incoherent light sources for biomedical applications.
• Devices for transmission of laser light: stereomicroscope; optical fibers and fiber propagation.
• Optical properties of biotissue: biological chromophores, absorption: Lambert-Beer Law, scattering; examples on light trasmission in the cornea.
• Laser-tissue interaction for diagnostic and therapeutic applications: photochemical and photothermal interactions; photomechanical interaction and tissue ablation, with examples in ophthalmic and micro-surgical applications.
Fundamentals of Biomedical Optics:
- optical properties of biological tissues
- utilization of lasers and other light sources for diagnostic and therapeutic applications
- ophthalmic applications of lasers
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge on Geometrical and Wave Optics, Math Analysis, Physical Units of Measurements
Teaching Methods
Lectures
Type of Assessment
The teacher recommends as the exam test a presentation on a topic of study chosen by the student (20 slides to be displayed in 20 minutes). The teacher can provide articles or texts for this purpose.
Course program
Introduction on the Maxwell equations and on the units of measurement. Mathematical representation of waves. Wave optics: light propagation in optical media, the refractive index.
Interference between two and more waves and thin films application. The main types of interferometers and their classification. Diffraction: the Huygens principle. Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction.