The evolution of biomedical vibrational spectroscopy: A personal perspective

When my colleague Parvez Haris asked me to write a historical review on the evolution of biomedical vibrational spectroscopy I consented, but now I need to clarify what this review is about and what it is not. It is my personal belief that biomedical vibrational spectroscopy has yet to reach its full potential and therefore I will not restrict myself to recounting its past history but will look ahead to its future and where it may still be evolving. Accordingly, my review will comprise two parts. As yours truly has now joined the league of octogenarians, in the first part I plan to share with the readers my personal recollections of the very early days of vibrational bio-spectroscopy which I was privileged to witness and be part of. In the second part I intend to peer into the crystal ball and speculate on new applications in the medical sciences, envisioning vibrational spectroscopy as a tool for the exploration of the human mind to probe psychosomatic diseases and emotional disorders.