Terahertz Imaging and Sensing for Healthcare: Current Status and Future Perspectives

There is a keen interest in the exploration of new generation emitters and detectors due to advancements in innovation of new materials and device processing technologies which have opened up new frontiers in the Terahertz (THz) spectrum. Therefore, it is necessary to review the developments in THz technology for healthcare applications, their impact, implications and prospects for ongoing research and development. This paper provides a broad overview of the current status and prospects of application of THz imaging and sensing for the healthcare domain. We present current knowledge, identify existing challenges for wide scale clinical adoption of THz systems and prospective opinions to facilitate research and development towards optimized and miniaturized THz systems and biosensors that provide real operational convenience through emerging trends. Firstly, we provide an overview of the THz imaging and sensing techniques that exploit properties of THz generation and detection with emphasis on terahertz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) and THz Metamaterials. The mechanisms of tissue image contrast and the application of THz imaging and sensing for biomedical applications in particular, the cancer detection application is reported. Secondly, an outlook toward the advancements in THz technology in the interface of healthcare 4.0 and its enabling technologies is explored for next generation smart and connected healthcare systems. Third, we identify the merits and existing challenges in THz cancer imaging and sensing and suggest prospective opinions to pave way to ongoing and future research. Further, we discuss the recent advances in THz imaging development and the contribution of near-field techniques based on plasmonic, and resonance based metasurfaces, waveguides etc. for breaking the diffraction limit towards development of THz systems that are convenient for point of care. We bring researchers a roadmap for future research scope.