Call for Papers

Maternal, reproductive, and neonatal health present complex challenges that require innovative approaches to improve understanding and outcomes. Advances in biophotonics offer transformative, non-invasive and precise approaches tailored for these sensitive and critical areas of healthcare.

This special section invites manuscripts exploring advancements in biophotonics to address key scientific questions and clinical needs in maternal, reproductive and neonatal health. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• • Reproductive biology and medicine: Biophotonics for studying reproduction, fertility, contraception, menstrual health, gynecological disorders, sexually transmitted infections, reproductive cancers and menopause.
  • Maternal health: Technologies to understand, monitor and manage pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, infections, and maternal health before, during and after parturition.
  • Neonatal health: Biophotonics to study and improve the health of neonates, including non-invasive monitoring and diagnostics.
  • Lactation and post-natal health: Innovations in understanding lactation physiology and managing postpartum complications.

Biophotonics approaches are well suited for noninvasive interrogation of the highly dynamic and fragile states associated with reproductive, maternal, and neonatal health. This special section will compile papers that focus on these and related topics, showcasing the current state-of-the-art in the biophotonics community and highlighting future directions for the field.

This special section supports the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal #3, Good Health and Well-Being. Read more about the targets and indicators for SDG Goal #3 here.

Manuscripts that include the following are solicited from authors:

• Clinical studies
• In vitro and preclinical investigations
• Computational modeling and simulations
• Basic science of cell and tissue optical properties related to maternal and reproductive health
• Tissue-mimicking phantoms and test methods
• Regulatory considerations and standardization
• Works that leverage advancements in imaging and spectroscopy techniques to address reproductive and maternal health, but are not limited to: 
  • Wearables
  • Photoacoustics
  • Diffuse optical imaging and spectroscopy
  • Imaging of endogenous and exogenous fluorophores
  • Optical coherence tomography
  • Hyperspectral imaging
  • Confocal and nonlinear microscopy
  • Light sheet microscopy
  • Vibrational spectroscopy (e.g., Raman)
  • Quantitative phase or holographic imaging
  • Computational imaging
  • Fluorescence lifetime imaging
  • Terahertz imaging and spectroscopy
  • Optical therapeutics (photodynamic therapy)
  • Optical trapping and micromanipulation

All papers will undergo the standard peer-review process for Biophotonics Discovery. Manuscripts should be submitted to SPIE according to the journal guidelines. A cover letter indicating that the submission is intended for this special section should be included. Note that papers are published as soon as they are accepted for publication and final proofs are approved.

We invite submissions for a BIOS special section on Innovative Optical Imaging Technologies in Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics, focused on the cutting-edge optical methods transforming the study of drug behavior and effects in biological systems. While existing methods for PK and PD are powerful and used throughout the drug discovery process, the majority of tools provide limited spatiotemporal information that can be critical in determining drug uptake, localization, and effect. This special section seeks to highlight recent advances in optical imaging modalities—including but not limited to fluorescence imaging, multiphoton microscopy, coherent Raman imaging, and photoacoustic imaging—that allow for deeper insights into drug activity, molecular interactions, and cellular responses. Future enhancement and optimization of these novel modalities may complement existing validated non-optical methods for potential applications in pharmaceutical and nonclinical development.

Submissions may explore applications of these imaging technologies across various therapeutic areas, describe novel imaging probes and contrast agents, or present new imaging and computation methods that advance pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic research. Papers addressing the challenges of scaling these technologies from preclinical models to clinical applications are especially welcome. We encourage contributions from researchers in biomedical optics, pharmacology, nanotechnology, and bioengineering to foster an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas that can accelerate drug development and precision medicine.

All papers will undergo the standard peer-review process for Biophotonics Discovery. Manuscripts should be submitted to SPIE according to the journal guidelines. A cover letter indicating that the submission is intended for this special section should be included. Note that papers are published as soon as they are accepted for publication and final proofs are approved.

Cytometry and single-cell analysis technologies have advanced measurements of cellular heterogeneity, offering unprecedented insights into complex biological processes at the resolution of individual cells. These cutting-edge techniques include flow cytometry, imaging cytometry, intravital cytomics, in vivo flow cytometry and cell enumeration technologies, optofluidic systems for single-cell sorting and lab-on-a-chip measurements, and advancements in AI and machine learning for cell detection and classification. The ability to profile cells in a high-dimensional space has profound implications across diverse fields, from immunology and cancer research to developmental biology and drug discovery. As these technologies continue to evolve, they promise to deepen our understanding of cellular behavior, facilitate the discovery of new biomarkers, and drive the development of personalized therapeutic strategies. This special section aims to highlight the latest advancements in cytometry and single-cell analysis, showcasing how these innovative tools are used for preclinical and clinical in vivo measurements as well as how they are shaping the future of biomedical research.

All papers will undergo the standard peer-review process for Biophotonics Discovery. Manuscripts should be submitted to SPIE according to the journal guidelines. A cover letter indicating that the submission is intended for this special section should be included. Note that papers are published as soon as they are accepted for publication and final proofs are approved.