Biomedical optics centers: forty years of multidisciplinary clinical translation for improving human health

Despite widespread government and public interest, there are significant barriers to translating basic science discoveries into clinical practice. Biophotonics and biomedical optics technologies can be used to overcome many of these hurdles, due, in part, to offering new portable, bedside, and accessible devices. The current JBO special issue highlights promising activities and examples of translational biophotonics from leading laboratories around the world. We identify common essential features of successful clinical translation by examining the origins and activities of three major international academic affiliated centers with beginnings traceable to the mid-late 1970s: The Wellman Center for Photomedicine (Mass General Hospital, USA), the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic (University of California, Irvine, USA), and the Medical Laser Center Lübeck at the University of Lübeck, Germany. Major factors driving the success of these programs include visionary founders and leadership, multidisciplinary research and training activities in light-based therapies and diagnostics, diverse funding portfolios, and a thriving entrepreneurial culture that tolerates risk. We provide a brief review of how these three programs emerged and highlight critical phases and lessons learned. Based on these observations, we identify pathways for encouraging the growth and formation of similar programs in order to more rapidly and effectively expand the impact of biophotonics and biomedical optics on human health

Optics and Quantum Electronics

Contains table of contents for Section 2 and reports on eighteen research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant EET 87-00474)Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAAL03-86-K-0002)Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAALO3-89-C-0001)Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (Grant DL-H-285408)Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (Grant DL-H-2854018)National Science Foundation (Grant EET 87-03404)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS 84-06290)U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Contract F49620-88-C-0089)AT&T Bell FoundationNational Science Foundation (Grant ECS 85-52701)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5-RO1-GM35459)Massachusetts General Hospital (Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-86-K-0117)Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Subcontract B048704

Optics and Quantum Electronics

Contains reports on eleven research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant EET 87-00474)Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAALO03-86-K-O002)Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. (Grant DL-H-2854018)National Science Foundation (Grant DMR 84-18718)National Science Foundation (Grant EET 87-03404)National Science Foundation (ECS 85-52701)US Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Contract AFOSR-85-0213)National Institutes of Health (Contract 5-RO1-GM35459)US Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-86-K-0117

Optics and Quantum Electronics

Contains table of contents for Section 3 and reports on twenty research projects.Charles S. Draper Laboratories Contract DL-H-467138Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-92-C-0001Joint Services Electronics Program Grant DAAH04-95-1-0038U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Contract F49620-91-C-0091MIT Lincoln LaboratoryNational Science Foundation Grant ECS 90-12787Fujitsu LaboratoriesNational Center for Integrated PhotonicsHoneywell Technology CenterU.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (MFEL) Contract N00014-94-1-0717U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (MFEL) Grant N00014-91-J-1956National Institutes of Health Grant NIH-5-R01-GM35459-09U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-93-1-0301MIT Lincoln Laboratory Contract BX-5098Electric Power Research Institute Contract RP3170-25ENEC

Optics and Quantum Electronics

Contains table of contents for Section 3 and reports on eighteen research projects.Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/MIT Lincoln Laboratory Contract MDA972-92-J-1038Joint Services Electronics Program Grant DAAH04-95-1-0038National Science Foundation Grant ECS 94-23737U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Contract F49620-95-1-0221U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-95-1-0715MIT Center for Material Science and EngineeringNational Center for Integrated Photonics Technology Contract DMR 94-00334National Center for Integrated Photonics TechnologyU.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (MFEL) Contract N00014-94-1-0717National Institutes of Health Grant 9-R01-EY11289MIT Lincoln Laboratory Contract BX-5098Electric Power Research Institute Contract RP3170-25ENEC