This feature issue of Biomedical Optics Express combines three technical areas from the 2010 Optical Society of America (OSA), Biomedical Optics (BIOMED) Topical Meeting held on 11 – 14 April in Miami, FL and includes contributions from conference attendees. Bio-Optics in Clinical Applications, chaired by Rebecca Richards-Kortum from Rice University, featured 22 presentations; Photonic Nanotechnology and Probes, chaired by Sam Achilefu from Washington University, featured 16 presentations; and the Biological and Drug Discovery Imaging, chaired by Elizabeth Hillman from Columbia University, featured 9 presentations. In addition, numerous posters were presented in three afternoon poster sessions. The BIOMED conference was held in conjunction with the OSA Digital Holography and Three-Dimensional Imaging Topical Meeting.

The Chairs of the 2010 BIOMED meeting were Vasilis Ntziachristos, Technische Univ., Munchen, Germany and Lihong Wang, Washington University, USA. Additional Program Chairs included Irene Georgakoudi, Tufts University and Jerome Mertz, Boston University co-chairing the program on microscopy, Xingde Li, Johns Hopkins University chairing the optical coherence tomography (OCT) and sensing program, Paul Beard, University College London, chairing the program on photoacoustic imaging and spectroscopy, and Arjun Yodh, University of Pennsylvania, chairing the program on optical imaging and spectroscopy.

The conference was opened on April 11 with two plenary talks. The first was given by Sam Gambhir, Stanford University, who described the use of novel imaging agents as offering great potential to accelerate medical care. James Fujimoto, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, described the development of OCT technology and its application in research, ophthalmology, and cardiology. The April 12 session was opened by plenary talks from Shuming Nie, Emory University and Georgia Technical University, and Bohumil Bednar, Merck Research Laboratories. Each presented perspectives on molecular imaging and the use of targeted probes. 2008 Nobel Prize Winner Roger Tsien, University of California at San Diego, discussed new flavoproteins to photogenerate singlet oxygen, enabling genetically encoded correlative light and electron microscopy in the April 13 plenary session. This presentation was followed by Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Rice University, who discussed bringing optical cancer detection to third-world countries, and provided a vivid, real-time demonstration of her low-cost fiber optic microscopy technology.

In vivo imaging played a central role at this conference, as it has in past BIOMED conferences. Topics covered ranged from novel instrumentation and algorithm development, to clinically or scientifically focused studies utilizing cutting edge optical imaging technologies. A number of papers discussed the challenges faced in translational research. A session focusing specifically on imaging of the brain highlighted the impact that optical neuroimaging is having on neuroscience research, particularly for real-time monitoring, and for studies of brain development in infants and children. A session on cancer imaging presented a number of papers discussing multi-modality imaging as a way to bring optical technologies closer to the clinical environment. The use of optical techniques for monitoring therapy response, for example to assess the effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients was also highlighted. Clinical applications for optical imaging and spectroscopy are also growing as technical successes in diagnostics, imaging guided therapies, and early detection of disease are realized. This feature issue of Biomedical Optics Express presents new research findings in these fields [1–3].

Another area of biomedical optics that was showcased concerned imaging tools designed for biomedical research. These included techniques such as optical projection tomography and 3D small animal imaging, as detailed in papers within this issue [4,5]. While not techniques that can be directly translated into the clinic, these tools have the potential to significantly impact areas of disease research and drug discovery and development. Advances in nanotechnology and molecular probes were also well represented at the conference as well as in this feature issue [6,7].

The papers presented in this feature issue of Biomedical Optics Express provide an excellent cross section of the topics covered at the BIOMED conference. The editors thank the contributors to the conference and to this issue for their efforts.