Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1
IntroductiontoConvergentDisciplines
inOpticalEngineering:Nano,
MOEMS,
a
ndBiotechnology
Representative examples of the evolving interrelationships of optics, nano-
technology, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), micro-opto-electro-
mechanical systems (MOEMS), and biotechnology include
• Digital image processing of optical imagery from high-speed cam-
eras and x-ray illumination for real-time x-ray cineradiography
• Optical signal processing for super high-speed computing
• Physiology of the cell molecule mitochondria where messenger
RNA generate proteins and signaling system pathways in response
to impulse functions characterized with optical fiber sensor
instrumentation
• Laser illumination with spatiotemporal filtering to see through
fireballs
• Velocity and surface deformation measurement with fiber-optic
Doppler sensing
• Mach-Zehnder interferometric logic gate switches for high-speed
computing
• Flash x-ray cineradiographic event capture at the interface between
mechanical structures and biophysiologic entities
• Nanoassembly of protein structures for protein binding to specific
steps in metabolic processes
Additional applications of optical engineering to biotechnology of particular
interest include bioimaging, biosensors, flow cytometry, photodynamic ther-
apy, tissue engineering, and bionanophotonics, to name a few. Such are the
applications of the future. This topic is intended to extend the ields of opti-
cal engineering and solid-state physics into the realms of biochemistry and
molecular biology and to ultimately redefine specialized fields such as bio-
photonics. It is in such crossdisciplinary endeavors that we may ultimately
achieve some of the most significant breakthroughs in science.
