<title>Diagnostic laser systems</title>

Abstract

Lasers have found increasingly wide applications in biomedicine, and, in particular, for diagnostic purposes. Indeed, the properties of laser radiation (high spatial and temporal coherence) and the consequent possibility of defining the physical parameters of radiation- matter interaction with great accuracy, make an extremely precise and selective action possible. This paper gives a survey of the most recent approaches to laser-based diagnosis in basic and applied biomedical research, together with a discussion of the potentials of diagnostic laser systems for use in the clinical practice.