Biophotonics review maps what’s reaching veterinary clinics now
Bottom line
A new perspective review in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, published September 17, 2026, maps where biophotonics is actually reaching veterinary clinics and where it’s still stuck in translation. The paper highlights optical coherence tomography, or OCT, and fluorescence-guided imaging as the most clinically established tools so far, especially in veterinary ophthalmology and surgical oncology. It also points to a broader pipeline that includes hyperspectral imaging, Raman spectroscopy, visible and near-infrared spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, while underscoring the same bottlenecks that have slowed adoption: high equipment costs, limited multicenter validation, inconsistent protocols, and species-specific factors like haircoat, pigmentation, and skin thickness that affect signal quality. (frontiersin.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the review is a useful reality check. It suggests biophotonics is no longer just a lab concept, but it’s not yet a routine practice standard either. OCT is already gaining traction in referral ophthalmology, including intraoperative use at centers like UC Davis, where clinicians say it improves surgical visualization and training. Fluorescence-guided imaging is also moving forward in minimally invasive and oncologic surgery, but veterinary-specific dosing, technique, and validation work still need to catch up before broader use in general practice or across specialties. (vetmed.ucdavis.edu)
What to watch: Expect the next phase to center on standardization, multicenter clinical studies, and whether AI-assisted image analysis can help these tools move from referral settings into wider veterinary use. (frontiersin.org)
Key facts
- Article type
- Perspective review
- Journal
- Frontiers in Veterinary Science
- Publication date
- September 17, 2026
- Main clinically established tools
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescence-guided imaging
- Most established use areas
- Veterinary ophthalmology and surgical oncology
- Other technologies in the pipeline
- Hyperspectral imaging, Raman spectroscopy, visible and near-infrared spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
- Main barriers to adoption
- High equipment costs, limited multicenter validation, and inconsistent protocols
- Species-specific factors affecting signal quality
- Haircoat, pigmentation, and skin thickness
Biophotonics may be one of the clearer examples of a technology category that’s advancing in veterinary medicine without yet becoming mainstream. In a new perspective review published September 17, 2026, in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Daira Viškere and colleagues argue that light-based diagnostic and imaging tools are beginning to show real clinical value in animal health, with OCT and fluorescence-guided imaging standing out as the most translated applications to date. (frontiersin.org)
The review arrives at a moment when veterinary medicine is under pressure to improve diagnostic precision while minimizing invasiveness, anesthesia time, and surgical uncertainty. According to the authors, that’s where biophotonics could fit: these tools can provide non-contact, real-time, or near-real-time tissue information that conventional imaging modalities such as ultrasound, CT, and MRI may not capture at the microstructural level. The paper focuses on diagnostic imaging and spectroscopy rather than therapeutic laser applications, and draws on literature published through December 1, 2025. (frontiersin.org)
What’s changed is less a single breakthrough than a clearer sorting of what’s clinically usable now versus what remains investigational. The authors write that OCT has already been integrated into veterinary clinical practice, particularly in ophthalmology referral settings, where it can generate high-resolution cross-sectional images of the cornea, retina, and optic nerve. Fluorescence-based imaging, often using indocyanine green, is being applied primarily in specialized surgery and research environments to support intraoperative visualization of tissue perfusion and tumor margins. By contrast, hyperspectral imaging and Raman spectroscopy are still largely in research and early translational stages, despite promising diagnostic performance. (frontiersin.org)
Outside the review itself, there are signs that OCT is becoming more tangible in clinical workflows. UC Davis reported in December 2024 that a microscope upgrade added intraoperative OCT to its ophthalmology service, allowing surgeons to visualize corneal depth, retinal structures, and foreign-body location during procedures rather than relying only on preoperative imaging. The school said the technology also expanded training opportunities and enabled procedures that previously required referral elsewhere. That doesn’t mean OCT is widely available, but it does support the review’s argument that the modality has moved beyond theory in at least some referral environments. (vetmed.ucdavis.edu)
Fluorescence-guided imaging appears to be on a similar, if narrower, path. A 2024 review on fluorescence imaging in laparoscopic surgery noted growing veterinary interest, tied to better visualization during minimally invasive procedures, while also emphasizing unresolved questions around optimal dosing, tissue-specific fluorophores, and veterinary-specific techniques. That lines up closely with Viškere and colleagues’ larger point: the science is promising, but translation depends on turning technically impressive tools into repeatable, validated, practice-ready workflows. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
The biggest friction points are practical ones. The Frontiers review identifies high capital costs, lack of standardized protocols, and limited multicenter validation as major barriers to broader adoption. It also stresses a challenge that is uniquely veterinary: species diversity matters optically. Haircoat, pigmentation, skin thickness, and anatomic variation can all change how light penetrates tissue and how reliably signals can be interpreted. In other words, a platform that works well in one species, body site, or specialty setting may not transfer cleanly to another without additional validation. (frontiersin.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this review helps frame biophotonics as a field to watch strategically rather than a technology wave to adopt wholesale. In the near term, the clearest opportunities appear to be in referral ophthalmology, surgical oncology, and other specialty settings where higher equipment costs can be justified by case complexity and where image interpretation expertise already exists. Longer term, if protocols become standardized and AI-assisted analysis matures, these tools could support earlier diagnosis, more precise margin assessment, and less invasive monitoring. But for now, the gap between promising data and routine workflow integration remains the central story. (frontiersin.org)
What to watch: The next milestones will likely be prospective multicenter studies, veterinary-specific workflow standards, and evidence that these systems improve outcomes or efficiency enough to justify their cost in everyday practice; if that evidence emerges, adoption could broaden beyond academic and specialty centers. (frontiersin.org)