SPIE - Education Fundamentals of Applied Pathophysiology in Optical Diagnostics SC1205

This course is a critical and fundamental introduction to main pathophysiologic processes across the human body, emphasizing on optics and photonics engineering approaches for innovative design and development of novel methods and devices to screen, detect, diagnose and monitor clinical conditions. The majority of human diseases are rooted in one of the few main pathological processes such as inflammation, infection, atrophy, hypertrophy, hyperplasia, ischemia and hypoxia. Understanding the basics, natures, mechanisms, specifications and effects of these main pathologic processes on human body structure and function helps biophotonics engineers and researchers to better comprehend contemporary methods of detection and management of these conditions. This knowledge enables them to theorize, innovate and design new optical techniques and devices for diagnosis and monitoring of pathologic conditions in different organ systems. Such an approach will also enable engineers to extrapolate standard diagnostic techniques from one to other organs for various disorders that are similar in pathology. This should be considered as a critical and necessary skill in modern biomedical engineering. This course aims to provide this essential intuition.