Optical parametric oscillators for medical applications

In recent years optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) have undergone a renaissance largely due to the discovery of new nonlinear materials capable of wide continuous tuning ranges spanning from the UV to the near-infrared spectral regions. To date, however, OPOs have not been exploited in the medical field despite their advantages over the dye laser in terms of tuning range and solid state structure. We consider the development of an OPO based on barium borate (BBO) which can be tailored to suit applications in medicine. Converting the maximum number of pump photons to tunable signal and idler photons is of great importance to secure high-fluence radiation necessary for many treatments. With this in mind, we report on an all- solid-state system using BBO which has been optimized by computer modeling with the potential of delivering amplification factors of typically up to 20 over a continuous tuning range of 700 nm to 1000 nm. As an example of its biomedical application, we describe the selective excitation of biomolecules and chromophores for cell destruction using malachite green isothiocyanate labelled bacteria. The potential for development is reviewed towards other medical applications such as diagnostic sensing and phototherapy.