Brillouin imaging for studies of micromechanics in biology and biomedicine: from current state-of-the-art to future clinical translation

Brillouin imaging (BI) is increasingly recognized to be a powerful technique that enables non-invasive measurement of the mechanical properties of cells and tissues on a microscopic scale. This provides an unprecedented means for investigating cell mechanobiology, cell-matrix interactions, tissue biomechanics and other fundamental biological questions. Recent advances in optical hardware have accelerated the development of BI techniques, with increasingly finer spectral resolution and more powerful system capabilities. We envision that further developments will enable the translation of BI to clinical applications in disease screening and monitoring. In light of the recent shift towards biomedical applications, this review summarizes the state-of-the-art in Brillouin microscopy and imaging techniques with a specific focus on biological tissue and cell measurements. Key system and operational requirements are discussed to facilitate wider application of BI along with current challenges for clinical translation of the technology for clinical and medical applications.