Spectral Imaging: Methods, Design, and Applications - Biomedical Optical Imaging Technologies: Design and Applications - page 157

4.7 Discussion and Conclusions

The field of spectral imaging grew and matured during the last three decades. The
recent technological advances contributed to spectral imaging progress in almost
every aspect: advances in optical elements manufacturing, detector technologies,
computer speed and memory capacity, image processing algorithms and creative
measurements setup.
Different methods used for spectral imaging systems were described, as well as
their advantages, limitations, and possible applications. In addition, the conceptual
parts of a spectral imaging system were described, combined with brief description
of the major biomedical applications.
Biomedical applications typically require collection of complex information
from tested samples with minimal invasion and risk at shorter times and lower costs.
Spectral imaging conforms well to these demands as it provides a lot more data than
typical imaging devices. Based on the significant growth and wealth of creative
improvements, we believe that further technological advances will lead to the
development of new architectures for detection systems that will allow significantly
faster and more accurate spectral image measurements.

Acknowledgements The work was partially supported by the Israeli Science Foundation (ISF)
grants numbers 985/08 and 1729/08.

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