SPIE Photonics West 2025 – Jan 28-30 2025

Researchers in biology and life sciences have devised an impressive number of strategies to address the complex process of studying biological matter. Spectral Imaging is a promising optical technique for them, due to the combination of the spectroscopy and imaging characteristics in a unique way. Forestry and agriculture management had already taken benefit of the spectral imaging systems’ advantages, but there are new interesting applications such as tumor detection, monitoring moisture content and chromaticity of food, diagnosis of skin diseases or livestock feed quality. They will require new detectors with better efficiency and accuracy, dedicated optical components and improved data analysis to obtain the right information from these critical samples. In this podium discussion, we will understand how industrial partners are addressing these new requirements and talk about the challenges for the future.