This book explores the early-stage detection of cancer using polarized light. It discusses the diverse properties of the light (temporal and spatial coherence, polarization, fluorescence, etc.) that can be used non-invasively as an optical technique for recognizing precancerous lesions, which could become a reliable and accurate method for cancer screening. The search for the effective means for cancer screening is of particular interest to scientific and medical communities, because cancer takes its toll around the globe with no respect for age or gender. Early detection of the disease is a key factor in increasing the survival rate and patients' quality of life.

This book provides an essential overview of the basic principles of imaging modalities, accompanied by examples of their applications in modern clinical and associated pre-clinical studies. The monograph is based on the original results of investigation of the efficiency use of laser light and Mueller-matrix polarimetry approach for assessment of myocardial tissues towards confirmation the cause of death. A morphological analysis of necrotic changes in the myocardial tissue of patients that died due to heart attack, coronary heart disease and acute coronary insufficiency was carried out and the data and histological sections of the myocardium inspected utilizing Mueller-matrix mapping of tissue samples with polarized light. A unified optical model of polycrystalline structure of the myocardium is proposed, and the principles and regulations of Mueller-matrix description of its polarization manifestations are explored and developed. The book also provides a statistical and scale-selective wavelet analysis of polarization and Mueller-matrix maps. Finally, the key forensic medical criteria for the differential diagnosis of the cause of death due to necrotic and pathological changes in the morphological structure of the myocardium have been established