Short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy and imaging of biological tissues: a decade of advancements (2016-2025)

Short-wave infrared (SWIR) light has recently gained popularity in tissue spectroscopy and imaging applications for a wide range of biomedical applications, primarily due to advancements in hardware (e.g., cameras).

We aim to provide a detailed review of SWIR-based biomedical optics studies from the past decade, during which there has been a proliferation of SWIR-based tissue-optics studies.

We report literature occurring after the publication of our previous (2015) review of this space, describing next-generation SWIR-based techniques that hold significant promise for enhanced in vivo tissue characterization and clinical translation.

Interest from the biophotonics field in SWIR technology is typically attributable to (1) the capability of SWIR light to provide greater sensitivity to chromophores such as water and lipids, with absorption peaks not as prominent in the visible-to-near-infrared (VIS-NIR) spectral region, and (2) the potential for SWIR photons to penetrate through superficial tissue layers due to lower scattering in the SWIR than in the VIS-NIR, as well as substantially reduced attenuation from hemoglobin and melanin.

This review of emerging SWIR biophotonic technologies illustrates the rapid growth in the use of SWIR light for in vivo tissue spectroscopy and imaging.