The Bio-Opticcombination, has a multidisciplinary translation. On the one hand, Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of "light" in the Ultraviolet (UV), Visible (VIS), and Near Infrared (IR) ranges, including its interactions with matter, as well as the construction of instruments that use light. On the other hand, the word Bio is a term, referring to Life, studied in disciplines such as Biology and Biomedicine.
Light has been used in the Biofield for many years.Just think of the role optical microscopes have played (what would our Nobel Prize winner Ramón y Cajal have done without a microscope!) and later confocal microscopes, in the field of exploration and gathering of isolated cells and biological tissues, in the support in surgical interventions, in diagnoses in pathological anatomy, etc. In the same way, endoscopes, which make it possible to illuminate, through optical fibres, areas of the body with difficult access are being used regularly in explorations and interventions in different fields of medicine such as surgery, traumatology, etc.
On the other hand, the fact that light can be diffused or absorbed by biological tissues is being a powerful tool in various treatments,such as photodynamic therapy in cancer and retinal macular degeneration; laser scalpels used in surgery that prevent bleeding by cauterizing tissues; excimer lasers that are used in ophthalmology for the removal of corneal tissue by ablation, etc.
A very topical application is the use of the C band (the most energetic) of Ultraviolet radiation (UVC) for the disinfection of SARS-COV-2. In this case, UVC radiation acts on the molecular structure of the genetic material of the virus, that is, on its RNA, making it impossible to replicate and, therefore, disabling its ability to infect. The type of damage produced by UVC on SARS-COV-2 can be extrapolated to any type of pathogen (bacteria, fungi, spores, etc.) acting well on its RNA or DNA. It would be enough to adapt the dose (product of the UVC energy used by the time of exposure of the pathogen to said radiation).
The recent appearance of nanotechnology has made it possible to extend the applications of the use of light as a non-invasive tool in the Biofield. For example, spectral analysis of the light transmitted by nano-perforated metal surfaces on which cells have been placed would make it possible to distinguish whether they are tumorous or healthy. The fact that the procedure is non-invasive allows the detected, isolated, and recovered cell to be genetically and molecularly analysed, with what this means for the individualized treatment of the tumour cell and by extension to the patient with it. Similarly, bio-sensors based on this same plasmonic technology are capable of distinguishing tumour tissue from non-tumour tissue in real-time. This identification is very useful in the interventions carried out by neurosurgeons for the elimination of glioblastoma, which is one of the most deadly brain tumours today and where it is very complex to distinguish the malignancy of the tissue at the tumour border.
There are more areas in which light, as a tool, can be used to solve problems in the Biofield. An example is the utility of UVC radiation in the food industry for the elimination of pathogens or the prediction of product behaviour. These types of applications and procedures make it possible to extend the healthiness of food. Another application results from the colorimetric analysis of fresh foods (meat, fish, vegetables), illuminated with lamps of known spectrum, which, due to the colour change, indicates, for example, the level of bacterial contamination of said foods or the moment ideal for its collection. And of course, it is very useful in industrial procedures such as the homogenization of roasts or the detection of traces.
In short, light is a purifying element and we are still on the verge of discovering its enormous potential.
Francisco Gonzalez
Director of the Department of Applied Physics of the University of Cantabria
Scientific advisor to the Radiometric Division of FOTOGLASS