Special Section Guest Editorial: Translational Biophotonics.

This guest editorial introduces the special section on Translational Biophotonics.

For the third consecutive year, the Journal of Biomedical Optics complemented the SPIE BiOS Translational Research Symposium at Photonics West to highlight ongoing research efforts aiming to transform discoveries in biomedical optics and biophotonics into new diagnostics and treatments for patients in need.

This collection of papers comprises 6 original research articles and 1 perspective review report, which were published in a special section on Translational Biophotonics in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, Volume 24, Issue 2:

The original research articles report exciting results in areas such as the use of near-infrared diffuse optical tomography based imaging for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment response monitoring (); combining microfluidic immunostaining, fluorescence imaging and image-based cell segmentation to enable ultrafast biomarker assessment of HER2-type breast carcinoma (); differentiating between normal and neoplastic colon by identifying the corresponding molecular signature through excitation-scanning hyperspectral imaging (); mitigating interoperator variability associated with current medical ultrasound imaging technique by using a noncontact laser ultrasound signals based system (); validating new drugs by screening in whole organisms through multi modal imaging and high throughput image processing (); and optimizing chemotherapy strategies in breast cancer based on tissue oxygen saturation predictions (). The perspective review report () introduces a new concept of translational sciences paper. It describes the translational journey of SMART bandage technology through a chronological review of the key scientific, engineering and clinical milestones achieved, discussing the challenges and the solutions to overcome them.

The overarching goal of both the symposium and this special section is to inspire a new generation of scientists in biomedical optics and biophotonics to pursue careers in translational sciences, bring novel technologies to clinical practice through solid collaborations between academia and industry, and ultimately solve important problems in healthcare.

The guest editors would like to thank all authors for their excellent contributions as well as the reviewers for their high-quality work and commitment to making this special series a success. The guest editors would also like to express their gratitude to Brian Pogue, editor-in-chief of JBO, for giving our community this unique opportunity, and to the JBO editorial staff at SPIE for the continuous support and attention that helped complete this series.