Session 1B: Symposium on “100 years of Raman Spectroscopy – Lab to Life”

Raman Theranostics: Perspectives and Challenges

Optical theranostics, alternatively or interchangeably also referred to as optical pathology, optical biopsy and spectral diagnosis, describe applications of spectroscopic and/or optical-based methods in disease diagnosis and management. Conventionally, diseases are diagnosed by clinical examination followed by relevant biochemical/microbiological/pathological/imaging examinations, which rely on symptomatic manifestations, often leading to late diagnosis and, in turn, poor prognosis. Since biochemical changes precede morphological/symptomatic changes, optical spectroscopies, which are sensitive alterations in chemical compositions, are emerging as potential alternatives/adjuncts. Major attributes of these methods are less time consuming, do not involve external labelling or sample processing, are more objective, and most importantly, involve in vivo/in situ online diagnosis. Laser-induced fluorescence, FTIR, Raman and diffuse reflectance are some well-known optical methods. The present talk discusses our studies on applications of Raman spectroscopy tools towards disease diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring.