In biomedical optics and photonics, optical tools are employed for the understanding and treatment of diseases, from the cellular level to macroscopic applications. At the cellular level, highly precise laser applications allow the manipulation, operation, or stimulation of cells, even in living organisms or animals. Optical microscopy has been revolutionized by a thorough understanding of the different markers and their switching behavior.

Marker-free microscopy technologies, like coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering, second-harmonic generation, third-harmonic generation microscopy, or digital holographic microscopy are spreading into multiple biological and clinical imaging applications. OCT is continuously broadening its clinical applicability by becoming even higher resolution, higher speed, and more compact. In the broader field of optics and photonics, biomedical imaging and sensing are the most quickly progressing and expanding areas. Techniques developed in these areas could greatly advance physical, engineering, and biological knowledge as well as optics and photonics technology.

This special section on biomedical imaging and sensing will be devoted to advanced biomedical imaging and sensing techniques.

• advanced microscopy
• advanced endoscopy
• superresolution in biomedical imaging and sensing
• computational imaging in biomedical imaging and sensing
• adaptive optics in biomedical imaging and sensing
• structured illumination in biomedical imaging and sensing
• interferometry and holography in biology and medicine
• optical coherence tomography
• diffuse optical tomography
• digital holography
• quantitative phase imaging
• photoacoustic imaging
• multimodal imaging and sensing
• optical biopsy
• spectroscopic imaging and sensing
• multispectral imaging and sensing
• scattering imaging
• fluorescence imaging
• molecular imaging
• terahertz sensing
• optical fibers and sensors for biomedicine
• multimodality optical diagnostic systems.

All submissions will be peer reviewed. Peer review will commence immediately upon manuscript submission, with a goal of making a first decision within 6 weeks of manuscript submission. Special sections are opened online once a minimum of four papers have been accepted. Each paper is published as soon as the copyedited and typeset proofs are approved by the author. Submissions should follow the guidelines of JBO. Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://jbo.msubmit.net. A cover letter indicating that the submission is intended for this special section should be included.

In 2018, the Journal of Biomedical Optics invites contributions for the third annual special section based on the papers presented at SPIE BiOS Translational Research Symposium at Photonics West. This symposium highlights the unique challenges associated with translating biophotonics technologies from benchtop to bedside. This special section is intended to complement the Translational Research Symposium by providing archival, peer-reviewed manuscripts that describe technologies and best practices that will further accelerate the translation of biophotonics research into clinical practice.

Papers should demonstrate how optics and photonics technologies can be used to solve healthcare challenges, including improving clinical outcome, and enhancing cost-effectiveness. A range of topics will be explored, spanning from early phase feasibility studies to emerging strategies for disease detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Key concepts that will be addressed include:

• Identifying clinical problems and unmet clinical needs
• Matching biophotonics solutions to clinical problems
• Developing clinical outcome measure(s) to assess efficacy
• Describing operational barriers to clinical translation
• Disseminating and adopting biophotonics technologies.

All submissions will be peer reviewed. Peer review will commence immediately upon manuscript submission, with a goal of making a first decision within 6 weeks of manuscript submission. Special sections are opened online once a minimum of four papers have been accepted. Each paper is published as soon as the copyedited and typeset proofs are approved by the author. Submissions should follow the guidelines of JBO. Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://jbo.msubmit.net. A cover letter indicating that the submission is intended for this special section should be included.

In the field of diffuse optics, rapid quantitative imaging of living tissue samples over wide fields of view has been a topic of great interest and potential. For a long time, strategies typically consisted of one of the following: 1) raster-scanning the field of view with a point source, with challenges for rapid imaging, or 2) "full-frame" imaging methods which typically required empirical assumptions about tissue optical properties. More recently, the emergence of spatial frequency domain methods in diffuse and quasi-diffuse regimes has created new opportunities to quantitatively characterize tissues. In particular, spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) has enabled rapid characterization of large areas of tissue. Because of the multiplexing advantages provided by light projector instrumentation, SFDI measurements can typically characterize all the pixels within a camera image--virtually any field-of-view can be measured quantitatively and rapidly. Additionally, SFDI can be easily combined with other diffuse optical approaches, including fluorescence, polarization, and multispectral imaging modalities. Consequently, this method has generated enthusiasm and witnessed rapid growth, allowing many new innovations in the fields of biology and medicine.

The principles of this method are 20 years old, and the earliest imaging applications just over 10 years old. This special section will be devoted to the latest advances in instrumentation and application development of SFDI and related spatial frequency domain modalities. Appropriate topics include, but are not limited to:

• diffuse optical imaging
• diffuse optical tomography
• microscopy
• fluorescence imaging
• instrumentation
• acquisition methods
• processing methods
• preclinical applications
• clinical applications
• clinical translation.

All submissions will be peer reviewed. Peer review will commence immediately upon manuscript submission, with a goal of making a first decision within 6 weeks of manuscript submission. Special sections are opened online once a minimum of four papers have been accepted. Each paper is published as soon as the copyedited and typeset proofs are approved by the author. Submissions should follow the guidelines of JBO. Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://jbo.msubmit.net. A cover letter indicating that the submission is intended for this special section should be included.

June 11-13th 2018 marks the Second Britton Chance International Symposium on Metabolic Imaging/Spectroscopy at University of Pennsylvania honoring the memory of Professor Britton Chance (1913-2010). Britton Chance was a prolific and legendary scientist who made pioneering contributions in the fields of radar, biochemistry, and biophysics, and who was a founding father of in vivo NMR and biomedical photonics. His research activities spanned physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, and medicine with aims to generate new understanding about tissue function and disease, and dreams to impact health science and clinical translation.

This special section of the Journal of Biomedical Optics welcomes submissions on topics in this spirit, e.g., focused on biomedical photonics and optical imaging/spectroscopy of tissue metabolism and related concepts.

A range of topics can be explored, spanning from technical development, translation and clinical application of metabolic/functional imaging, and spectroscopy methods for disease detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Some relevant topics include:

• Instrumentation and technical development of metabolic imaging/spectroscopic methods
• Imaging metabolism and functions of normal and diseased tissues
• Methods and applications for disease diagnosis and treatment
• Methods and applications for understanding physiology and biology
• Metabolic imaging/spectroscopy of cells or tissues.

To ensure a timely publication we require all authors to submit their articles by Aug. 15, 2018.  Authors should refer to the formatting and submission guidelines described in the online Authors Guidelines. Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://jbo.msubmit.net. A cover letter indicating that the submission is intended for this special section should be included.

All submissions will be peer reviewed. Peer review will commence immediately upon manuscript submission, with a goal of making a first decision within 6 weeks of manuscript submission. Special sections are opened online once a minimum of four papers have been accepted. Each paper is published as soon as the copyedited and typeset proofs are approved by the author.