This book explores the early-stage detection of cancer using polarized light. It discusses the diverse properties of the light (temporal and spatial coherence, polarization, fluorescence, etc.) that can be used non-invasively as an optical technique for recognizing precancerous lesions, which could become a reliable and accurate method for cancer screening. The search for the effective means for cancer screening is of particular interest to scientific and medical communities, because cancer takes its toll around the globe with no respect for age or gender. Early detection of the disease is a key factor in increasing the survival rate and patients' quality of life.

Autorentext
Dr Tatiana Novikova received her PhD in Physics and Mathematics from the Institute of Mathematical Modelling, Moscow (Russia) and Habilitation in Optics from University Paris-Sud, Orsay (France). Since 2002 she is a research scientist at the group of Applied Optics and Polarimetry in the Laboratory of Physics of Interfaces and Thin Films in Ecole polytechnique, Palaiseau (France).  Her research activities focus on physics of polarized light, interaction of electromagnetic waves with matter, biomedical engineering and computational physics for the development of new optical techniques for non-invasive diagnostics, target detection in turbid media, metrological applications of polarimetry. Dr Novikova served as a Guest Editor for the Special Section of Journal of Biomedical Optics Polarized Light for Biomedical Applications (July 2016). She was a Chairman of Program Committee of 1st European workshop Biophotonics and Optical Angular Momentum.  Dr Novikova is SPIE and OSA member, author of more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and proceedings of international conferences; over 60 presentations at international conferences, symposia and workshops, including 9 invited talks.

Dr. Alexander Bykov, PhD (Phys), DSc (Tech) is the leading researcher at the Opto-Electronics and Measurement Techniques Laboratory in the University of Oulu (Finland). Dr Bykov has over ten-year research experience in photonics and biomedical optics, supported by the University of Oulu's strategic development grants, as well as by the Academy of Finland and European funding bodies. He established an active collaboration with the Pathology Department in Oulu Hospital focusing on optical biopsy and screening cancer tissues in vitro with coherent polarized light. He is author and co-author of over 75 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and proceedings of international conferences including 4 invited book chapters; Over 45 presentations at the international conferences, including 6 invited lectures during last year.

Professor Igor Meglinski, MSc, PhD, is a Head of Opto-Electronics and Measurement Techniques Laboratory in the University of Oulu (Finland). For the last 20 years his research interests lie at the interface between physics, optical and biomedical engineering, sensor technologies and life sciences, focusing on the development of new non-invasive imaging/diagnostic techniques and their application in medicine & biology, material sciences, pharmacy, food, environmental monitoring, and health care industries. He pioneered the application of circularly polarized light for cancer diagnostics. He is the Node Leader in Biophotonics4Life Worldwide Consortium (BP4L), Fellow of the Institute of Physics (UK), and Fellow of SPIE. Professor Meglinski is author and co-author of over 220 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, proceedings of international conferences, books, book chapters, patents and professional magazines; over 450 presentations at major international conferences, symposia and workshops, including over 200 invited lectures and plenary talks.

Inhalt
Introduction 1. Methods and means of polarization correlation of fields of laser radiation scattered by biological tissues

1.1. Polarization-inhomogeneous fields and methods for their analysis

1.2. Polarization mapping of microscopic images of biological tissues

1.3. Wavelet analysis of polarization maps and Mueller-matrix images of biological tissues

1.4. Fourier analysis of polarization-inhomogeneous fields

1.5. Correlation approaches to the analysis of polarization-inhomogeneous fields

1.6. The complex degree of mutual polarization of microscopic images of biological tissues

1.7. The complex degree of mutual anisotropy of biological tissues

1.8. Azimuthal polarization invariants

2. Material and methods

2.1. Azimuthally invariant polarization mapping system

2.1.1. Optical scheme of a polarization mapping system azimuth and polarization elliptic distributions of microscopic images

2.2. The system of azimuthally-invariant Mueller-matrix mapping of biological layers

2.2.1. Optical sheme of a Mueller-matrix mapping system

2.3. CDMP mapping system

2.3.1. Optical scheme of a CDMP-mapping system

2.4. CDMA mapping system

2.4.1. Optical sheme of a CDMA-mapping system for optically anisotropic networks of histological sections of biological tissues

2.5. Wavelet analysis scheme

2.6. Fourier analysis scheme

2.7. Characterization of research objects

3**.** Scale-selective and spatial-frequency correlometry of polarization-inhomogeneous field

3.1. Wavelet-analysis of azimuthally invariant distributions of polarization parameters of microscopic images of biological tissues

3.1.1. Wavelet-analysis of azimuthally invariant polarization maps of spatially ordered optically anisotropic networks of biological tissues

3.1.2. Wavelet-analysis of azimuthally invariant polarization maps of spatially disordered optically anisotropic networks of biological tissues

3.1.3. Diagnostic application of wavelet analysis of azimuthally invariant polarization maps

3.2. Wavelet-analysis of azimuthally invariant Mueller-matrix images of biological tissues

3.2.1. Wavelet-analysis of azimuthally invariant Mueller-matrix images of spatially ordered optically anisotropic networks of biological tissues

3.2.2. Wavelet-analysis of azimuthally invariant Mueller-matrix images of spatially disordered optically anisotropic networks of biological tissues

3.2.3. Diagnostic application of wavelet analysis of azimuthally invariant

Mueller-matrix images

3.3. A brief theory of the method of spatial-frequency filtration of polarization-inhomogeneous microscopic images of histological sections of biological tissues

3.4. Fourier-analysis of azimuthally invariant distributions of polarization parameters of microscopic images of biological tissues

3.5. Fourier-analysis of azimuthally invariant Mueller-matrix images of biological tissues

4. Polarization correlometry of microscopic images of polycrystalline networks

biological layers

4.1. Polarization correlometry of microscopic images of biological layers

4.1.1. Brief theory of the method

4.1.2. CDMP-mapping of microscopic images of biological layers

with ordered architectonics

4.1.3. CDMP-mapping of microscopic images of biological layers with disordered architectonics

4.1.4. CDMP-mapping diagnostic features

4.2. Polarization correlometry of optically anisotropic networks of biological layers

4.2.1. CDMA-mapping of biological layers with ordered architectonics

4.2.2. CDMA mapping of biological layers with disordered architectonics

4.2.3. Diagnostic features of CDMA-mapping

5. Multifunctional stocks-correlometry of biological layers

5.1. Wavelet-analysis of CDMP-maps of microscopic images of biological tissues

5.1.1. Biological tissues with ordered architectonics

5.1.2 Biological tissues with disordered architectonics

5.1.3. Diagnostic capabilities of CDMP mapping of microscopic images of biological tissues

5.2. Wavelet analysis of biological tissue CDMA-maps 5.2.1. Biologic...