Advances in Technology and Applications of Optical Sensing and Imaging for Biomedicine: introduction.

This feature issue of Biomedical Optics Express presents 13 original research articles that highlight recent innovations and current directions in optical sensing and imaging for biomedical research and translation. The contributions span several major areas, including machine learning and image processing; microscopy; optical coherence tomography; optical diagnostics and optics in biotechnology; tissue optics and spectroscopy; and terahertz spectroscopy. Together, these studies advance optical methods for quantitative assessment of molecular, cellular, tissue, and physiological features, with applications including collagen remodeling characterization, ocular and vascular imaging, cortical functional assessment, cancer-related tissue and cell evaluation, and cartilage optical-property estimation. The collection highlights the integration of optical instrumentation, computational analysis, and clinical validation toward more quantitative and application-oriented biomedical optics.