2026 Symposium on Intraprocedural Biophotonics

Lihong Wang, Ph.D.
Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering
Andrew and Peggy Cherng Medical Engineering Leadership Chair
Executive Officer for Medical Engineering
California Institute of Technology

Photoacoustic, Light-Speed, and Quantum Imaging/Physics
We develop sonic-speed photoacoustic tomography (PAT) to peer deep into biological tissue. PAT offers functional, metabolic, molecular, and histologic imaging across scales from organelles to entire organisms. We also develop light-speed compressed ultrafast photography (CUP), which records up to 219 trillion frames per second, far exceeding the capabilities of commercially available cameras. CUP can capture real-time images of the fastest phenomena in nature, such as light propagation, and can be slowed down to record slower events, such as neural conduction. In parallel, we explore quantum imaging and quantum physics.

PAT physically couples pulsed optical excitation with ultrasonic detection. Conventional high-resolution optical imaging of scattering tissue is confined to depths within the optical diffusion limit (~1 mm). PAT overcomes this limit, providing centimeter-scale penetration with high ultrasonic resolution and high optical contrast by sensing molecules. Its broad applications include early cancer detection and brain imaging. Since 2010, the annual PAT conference at SPIE Photonics West (about 20,000 attendees) has been the largest conference at that meeting.

With a single exposure, CUP can image transient events on time scales as short as tens of femtoseconds. Like traditional photography, CUP is receive-only and does not require specialized active illumination, unlike many other single-shot ultrafast imagers. CUP can be coupled to front-end optics ranging from microscopes to telescopes, enabling applications across fundamental and applied sciences, from biology to astrophysics and cosmology.

We study quantum entanglement, quantum imaging, and atomic physics. Entangled photons exhibit nonclassical characteristics and can be used for quantum imaging. Unlike classical optical imaging, quantum imaging has achieved super-resolution beyond the diffraction limit through coincidence detection. Because photons originate from atoms and molecules, we also investigate atomic physics at the interface between classical and quantum descriptions. For example, we found, perhaps surprisingly, that the Bloch equation, conventionally regarded as classical, yields the von Neumann and Schrödinger equations. We also developed a theory that models the multistage Stern–Gerlach experiment suggested by Heisenberg and Einstein more accurately than existing treatments.

Arjun Yodh, Ph.D. 
James M. Skinner Professor of Science
Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Pennsylvania

Progress Probing Cerebral Flow and Metabolism with Diffuse Optics
Diffusing light contains a wealth of diagnostic information about tissue blood flow, blood oxygenation, and oxygen metabolism, about molecular biomarkers such as cytochrome-C oxidase, lipid, and water. These properties, in turn, can be employed to derive health biomarkers. I will first introduce the essential diffuse optics measurement tools and paradigms. Then I will discuss selected clinical and pre-clinical examples that we have investigated with our collaborators at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena , Ph.D.
Professor of Medical Robotics
Co-Director of Hamlyn Centre
Imperial College London

Medical Robotics: From the Brain to the Body
Medical robotics is moving rapidly beyond conventional surgical robots towards systems that are smaller, softer, more intelligent and increasingly integrated with the clinician. In this talk, I will introduce the Hamlyn Centre at Imperial College London and our work at the interface of robotics, engineering and medicine, before drawing on my own journey in medical robotics to illustrate how these technologies are evolving. I will focus first on our work in neurotechnology and neurosurgical robotics, from steerable needles and robotic systems for accessing deep targets in the brain to image guided intervention and precision delivery. I will then broaden the discussion to some of the research now shaping the Centre, including human and artificial intelligence, novel sensing and imaging, and emerging approaches in soft and flexible robotics that are opening new possibilities for intervention across the body. Finally, I will discuss the challenge that increasingly occupies us: how to move promising technologies beyond the laboratory and into clinical practice. I will illustrate this through our new University Technology Centre with Smith+Nephew in orthopaedic surgical robotics, and through our venture activity, including VERN, as examples of different routes for translating research into technologies that can ultimately reach patients.

Collin Stultz, MD, Ph.D. 
Nina T. and Robert H. Rubin Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Professor, Institute of Medical Engineering and Science
Co-Director Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology

Shy Shoham, Ph.D. 
Co-Director, Tech4Health Institute
Professor of Ophthalmology
Professor of Neuroscience
New York University

Illuminating Neural Systems and Codes with Innovative Bidirectional Neurotechnology
In this talk, I will highlight recent advances in neurophotonics and neuro-acoustic techniques that achieve highly precise manipulation and imaging ofneural activity at different spatial scales: from single neurons to an entire brain. I will first show how we use this strategy towards the dissection of thecomputations that drive olfactory perception and the underlying circuit computations. Next, I will discuss the results of recent multi-scale imaging andcomputational studies that together allow us to start deconstructing how network interactions mediate the responses to transcranial ultrasoundstimulation (TUS), a powerful new neuromodulation tool.

Robert Webster, Ph.D.
Senior Associate Provost for Commercialization and Technology Transfer
Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Professor of Electrical Engineering 
Professor of Otolaryngology
Professor of Neurological Surgery
Professor of Urologic Surgery 
Professor of Medicine
Vanderbilt University

From Invention to Clinical Use: Translating Surgical Robotics into Practice
Translating surgical robotics from an engineering concept into a technology that can meaningfully improve patient care requires far more than developing a successful prototype. It requires identifying clinically important problems, designing systems around real procedural needs, navigating regulatory and manufacturing challenges, and ultimately demonstrating safety and clinical utility. In this talk, I will describe our approach to developing surgical robotic technologies and translating them toward clinical use. I will highlight examples spanning robotic systems, flexible instruments, image-guided intervention, and novel approaches to minimally invasive surgery, and discuss how these technologies have progressed from early-stage research through intellectual property, startup formation, FDA interactions, and clinical studies. I will draw on experiences from the development of Virtuoso Surgical and EndoTheia, including the challenges and opportunities associated with moving technologies from the academic laboratory into commercial development and first-in-human use.

Summer Gibbs, Ph.D. 
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Douglas Strain Professorship 
OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, School of Medicine
Oregon Health & Sciences University

Can Near Infrared Nerve-Specific Imaging Improve Surgical Outcomes?
Fluorescence guided surgery (FGS) is a nascent field, however with ~15,000 clinical FGS system distributed worldwide, its potential to specifically highlight tissues to be resected (e.g., cancer) and avoided (e.g., nerves) has been recognized and there are >200 ongoing clinical trials with novel contrast agents to leverage this clinical imaging technology. Iatrogenic nerve damage is arguably one of the most feared surgical complications as nerve injury is often permanent leaving patients with pain, loss of function and disability. Near infrared (NIR) nerve-specific contrast agent(s) that are spectrally matched to the existing clinical FGS infrastructure have a direct path to clinical translation with broad surgical applicability. However, development of NIR nerve-specific probes has been a substantial challenge as these probes must be small enough to cross the tight blood nerve barrier, but have a sufficient degree of conjugation (i.e., double bounds, which by definition increase the molecular weight) to reach NIR wavelengths. Through a directed fluorophore medicinal chemistry approach, we have designed and developed first-in-kind, small molecule NIR nerve-specific fluorophores. Our lead NIR nerve-specific fluorophores are being clinical translated with our first patient dosed in August 2026. We are currently exploring the utility of nerve imaging for a variety of surgical indications including prostatectomy, neurosurgery, endocrine surgeries, head and neck surgeries and orthopedic indications.

Andreas Hielscher, Ph.D. 
Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Director, Clinical Biophotonics Laboratory (CBL)
New York University

Whole Body Disease Assessment with Vascular Optical Tomographic Imaging
Vascular Optical Tomographic Imaging (VOTI) is a non-invasive imaging technique that can be used to visualize blood flow, tissue oxygenation, and vascular function throughout the body. Near-infrared light is employed to illuminate the body part under investigation and transmitted and reflected light intensities are measured. So-called model-based iterative image reconstruction algorithms are then used to convert this information into 3-dimensional tomographic concentration maps of oxy-hemoglobin (HbO2), deoxy-hemoglobin (Hb), and total hemoglobin (THb). Furthermore, other physiologically important parameters such as oxygen saturation (StO2), water content, tissue scattering, etc. Over the last decade, considerable progress has been made toward clinically VOTI systems that assess brain function and diseases, cancer, vascular disease, and joint diseases. In addition to providing insights on hardware design [1] and the latest AI-based real-time image reconstruction software [2], the presentation will focus on recent results obtained in clinical studies involving breast cancer [3], peripheral artery disease in diabetics [4], lupus arthritis [5], and stroke [6]. Moreover, the most recent advance in making VOTI a wearable technology will be described [7]. Novel flexible electronics allow the integration of related hardware into fabrics, which provides for a more user-friendly interface and in-home monitoring capabilities. REFERENCES [1] M.A. Bardien, L. Pinar, A. Marone, A. Nordmann Gomes, L. Khalili, S. Suh, S.H. Kim, A.D. Askanase, A.H. Hielscher, “Patient-friendly real-time optical tomographic imaging system (LOTIS) for lupus arthritis,” Biosensors 2026, 16(4),184; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16040184 [2] Fay Wang, S.H. Kim, Y. Zhao, A. Raghuram, A. Veeraraghavan, J. Robinson, A.H. Hielscher, “High-Speed Time-Domain Diffuse Optical Tomography with a Sensitivity Equation-based Neural Network,” in IEEE Transactions on Computational Imaging, vol. 9, pp. 459-474, 2023, doi: 10.1109/TCI.2023.3273423. [3] J.E. McGuinness, M.L. Altoe, A. Marone, L.E. Franks, S. Lee, H.K. Kim, M. Tejada, M.S. Trivedi, M. Accordino, K.D. Crew, D.L. Hershman, A.H. Hielscher, and K. Kalinsky, “Diffuse optical tomography breast imaging measurements are modifiable with pre-surgical targeted and endocrine therapies among women with early-stage breast cancer,” Breast Cancer Research & Treatment, 189, pp. 297–304 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-021-06320-6 [4] R. Al abdi, N. Saadeh, H. Hijazi, N. Al-zoubi, A. Marone, N. Maheshwari, A.H. Hielscher, “Assessing hemodynamic changes in diabetic patients with and without peripheral arterial disease using dynamic vascular optical spectroscopy,” BioMedical Engineering OnLine (2026) 25:59, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12938-026-01564-z [5] A. Marone, W. Tang, Y. Kim, T. Chen, G. Danias, C. Guo, Y. Gartshteyn, L. Khalili, H.K. Kim, A.H. Hielscher, A. Askanase, “Evaluation of SLE arthritis using frequency domain optical imaging,” Lupus Science & Medicine 2021;8:e000495. https://doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2021-000495 [6] N. Maheshwari, A. Marone, L. Sharma, S.H. Kim, A.Favate, A.H. Hielscher, “Preliminary Study Using Wearable Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Continuous Monitoring of Hemodynamics Through the Carotid Artery,” Biosensors 2025, 15, 549. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15080549 [7] K. Renehan, J. Kim, H. Yin, F.Wang, P.D. Petridis, J.Grinband, S.H. Kim, A.H. Hielscher, Kenneth L. Shepard, "Wearable, High-Density, Time-Domain Diffuse Optical Tomography Array for Functional Neuroimaging," bioRxivdoi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.22.649003)

Fred Baik, MD
Assistant Professor-Univ Med Line
Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery)
Stanford University

TITLE PENDING
Imaging remains the critical backbone of surgical navigation. The development of novel imaging agents and devices has paved the way to increased acceptance from both regulatory and clinical parties.  Nevertheless, the adoption of these technologies into standard clinical practice faces several roadblocks. In this session, I will explore the challenges encountered intraoperatively and peri-operatively, and discuss some of the solutions that augmented reality offers.