Table 1.

Applications for optical technologies at different clinical stages.

Screening and diagnosis	Treatment	Monitoring treatment response and disease progression
Screening for early disease detection using optical spectroscopy of tissue or biofluids	In situ disease stratification to inform treatment decision-making	Prognostication to better stratify disease and provide tailored treatment
Integrating optical techniques into clinical biopsy tools to avoid complications and provide diagnostic predictors	Guidance for surgical resection	Monitor disease progression assess outcome, flag residual disease
	• margin assessment/localization
	• local drug administration
	• focal therapy (e.g., brachytherapy)
Complementing current standard-of-care diagnostic procedures by providing additional information for combined analysis techniques	Optics-enabled treatment using photochemical, photothermal, or photomechanical interactions to treat disease	Monitor treatment safety, especially for chronic conditions and long-term treatments