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The diagnosis and treatment of cancers have become a significant challenge in overcoming malignant diseases. Early detection of tumors and timely targeted therapy can greatly impede the rapid deterioration of cancers. In recent years, nano-systems based on photodynamic materials have shown great progress in tumor diagnosis and treatment applications. With the continuous exploration of tumor-specific targets and the development of photodynamic nanoparticles, the generation of new nanoparticles that are target-specific, highly sensitive, and biosafe for integrated diagnosis and therapy is realistic. This review introduces the rational basis for photosensitizer-based materials for integrating cancer diagnosis and anti-cancer therapy, types and characteristics of organic and inorganic photosensitizers currently used for PDT treatment, photosensitive nano-materials with dual detection and therapeutic properties the advancement in developing photo-dynamic nano-systems showing potential in integrated diagnosis and therapeutic applications. We also introduce current strategies for optimizing nano-systems with the properties for enhancing targeting ROS release and accurate imaging, combining therapeutic efficacy, as well as biosafety of the integrative materials for PDT application, providing references for the coordinated optimization of photosensitizer design and clinical translation.

Integrating functional materials with photonic and optoelectronic technologies has revolutionized medical diagnostics, enhancing imaging and sensing capabilities. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent innovations in functional materials, such as quantum dots, perovskites, plasmonic nanomaterials, and organic semiconductors, which have been instrumental in the development of diagnostic devices characterized by high sensitivity, specificity, and resolution. Their unique optical properties enable real-time monitoring of biological processes, advancing early disease detection and personalized treatment. However, challenges such as material stability, reproducibility, scalability, and environmental sustainability remain critical barriers to their clinical translation. Breakthroughs such as green synthesis, continuous flow production, and advanced surface engineering are addressing these limitations, paving the way for next-generation diagnostic tools. This article highlights the transformative potential of interdisciplinary research in overcoming these challenges and emphasizes the importance of sustainable and scalable strategies for harnessing functional materials in medical diagnostics. The ultimate goal is to inspire further innovation in the field, enabling the creation of practical, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly diagnostic solutions.

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), such as inflammatory bowel diseases and inflammatory arthritis (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis), are marked by increasing worldwide incidence rates. Apart from irreversible damage of the affected tissue, the systemic nature of these diseases heightens the incidence of cardiovascular insults and colitis-associated neoplasia. Only 40–60% of patients respond to currently used standard-of-care immunotherapies. In addition to this limited long-term effectiveness, all current therapies have to be given on a lifelong basis as they are unable to specifically reprogram the inflammatory process and thus achieve a true cure of the disease. On the other hand, the development of various OMICs technologies is considered as “the great hope” for improving the treatment of IMIDs. This review sheds light on the progressive development and the numerous approaches from basic science that gradually lead to the transfer from “bench to bedside” and the implementation into general patient care procedures.

This roadmap article focuses on spatially incoherent digital holography (IDH). Representative IDH methods such as optical scanning holography (OSH), Fresnel incoherent correlation holography (FINCH), coded aperture correlation holography (COACH), IDH with a Fresnel zone aperture, and IDH with an interferometer along with a state-of-the-art optical device are introduced as modern IDH methods. We describe these IDH techniques with applications of three-dimensional (3D) imagers, 3D thermography, and 3D microscopy.

Aspergillus fumigatus spores initiate more than 3,000,000 chronic and 300,000 invasive diseases annually, worldwide. Depending on the immune status of the host, inhalation of these spores can lead to a broad spectrum of disease, including invasive aspergillosis, which carries a 50% mortality rate overall; however, this mortality rate increases substantially if the infection is caused by azole-resistant strains or diagnosis is delayed or missed. Increasing resistance to existing antifungal treatments is becoming a major concern; for example, resistance to azoles (the first-line available oral drug against Aspergillus species) has risen by 40% since 2006. Despite high morbidity and mortality, the lack of an in-depth understanding of A. fumigatus pathogenesis and host response has hampered the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the clinical management of fungal infections. Recent advances in sample preparation, infection models and imaging techniques applied in vivo have addressed important gaps in fungal research, whilst questioning existing paradigms. This review highlights the successes and further potential of these recent technologies in understanding the host–pathogen interactions that lead to aspergillosis.

What does it mean to digitize a medieval manuscript? This book examines this question by exploring a range of advanced imaging technologies, from multispectral to 3D to reflectance transformation imaging. To understand imaging technologies requires an understanding of the complex materiality of what is being digitized and, to this end, the book focuses on the relationship between digital technologies and the complex materiality of manuscripts and the human bodies that engages them. From this perspective, the chapters explore imaging technologies, interfaces to present digital surrogates, and limitations to and enhancements through the digital. But lest past photographic information be lost, the book also examines historical photographs, exploring their rich visual information, and how digitizing and comparing them transforms what can be known. Examples and innovations from the author's work digitizing the eighth-century St. Chad Gospels at Lichfield Cathedral are provided. This book is essential reading for all those involved in large and small scale manuscript digitization projects in both scholarly and cultural heritage contexts.

In recent years, rapid developments in imaging concepts and computational methods have given rise to a new generation of imaging technologies based on chaos. These chaos-inspired imaging technologies (CI 2 -Tech) consist of two directions: non-invasive and invasive. Non-invasive imaging, a much older research direction with a goal of imaging through scattering layers, has reached faster, smarter, and sharper imaging capabilities in recent years. The invasive imaging direction is based on exploiting the chaos to achieve imaging characteristics and increase dimensionalities beyond the limits of conventional imagers. In this roadmap, the current and future challenges in invasive and non-invasive imaging technologies are presented.

Digital holography is a technique that provides a non-invasive, label-free, quantitative, and high-resolution imaging employable in biological and science of matter fields, but not only. In the last decade, digital holography (DH) has undergone very significant signs of progress that made it one of the most powerful metrology tools. However, one of the most important issues to be afforded and solved for obtaining quantitative phase information about the analyzed specimen is related to phase aberrations. Sources of aberrations can be diverse, and several strategies have been developed and tested to make DH a reliable optical system with submicron resolution. This paper reviews the most effective and robust methods to remove or compensate phase aberrations in retrieved quantitative phase imaging by DH. Different strategies are presented and discussed in detail on how to remove or compensate for such disturbing aberrations. Among the various methods improvements in the optical setups are considered the numerical algorithms, the hybrid methods, and the very recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches to compensate for all aberrations which affect the setups to improve the imaging quality and the accuracy of the reconstruction images’ procedures.

Background and Aim Nonspecific ileitis is inflammation of the ileum without specific diagnostic features. A minority may go on to develop Crohn's disease, but optimal pathways of further investigation have not been established. This study aimed to identify a cohort of patients with nonspecific ileitis and to determine the value of ileal histology and gastrointestinal ultrasound in identifying/excluding Crohn's disease. Patients and Methods In a retrospective analysis, all patients having nonspecific ileitis at colonoscopy from January 2010 to August 2021 were identified. Clinical associations with those subsequently diagnosed with Crohn's disease were examined with specific reference to ileal histology and gastrointestinal ultrasound. Results Of 29 638 procedures, 147 patients (0.5%) had nonspecific ileitis. Crohn's disease was subsequently diagnosed in 8 patients (5.4%) at a median of 148 (range 27–603) days after colonoscopy. The presence of chronic inflammation on ileal biopsies was more common in those subsequently diagnosed with Crohn's disease (63% vs 20%; P = 0.0145). On gastrointestinal ultrasound, none of the 26 patients with normal bowel wall thickness (<3 mm) were subsequently diagnosed with Crohn's disease, and repeat ultrasound in 15 patients 1 year later showed no change. Of the nine patients with abnormal sonographic findings, three were diagnostic for Crohn's disease. Repeat ultrasound revealed Crohn's disease in two, while four had resolution of the abnormal findings. Conclusion Although ileal histology was of limited value in identifying patients with nonspecific ileitis who were subsequently diagnosed with Crohn's disease, gastrointestinal ultrasound was highly informative. Prospective studies are needed to confirm the value of gastrointestinal ultrasound as a diagnostic and monitoring tool in this setting. Non‐specific ileitis at ileocolonoscopy may progress to Crohn's disease in a proportion of patients. In this study, we show that the likelihood of this is occurring is low (5.4%). Furthermore, the use of gastrointestinal ultrasound after identifying non‐specific ileitis, may be useful in identifying those that may progress to Crohn's disease.