Advances in optical imaging

Different optical imaging technologies have significantly progressed over t he last years. Besides advances in imaging techniques and image reconstruct ion, new "smart" optical contrast agents have been developed which can be u sed to detect molecular targets (such as endogenous enzymes) in vivo. The c ombination of novel imaging technologies coupled with smart agents bears gr eat diagnostic potential both clinically and experimentally. This overview outlines the basic principles of optical imaging and summarizes the current state of the art.