Current Challenges in Optofluidic Imaging for Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies

Optofluidic imaging is becoming an important area within lab-on-a-chip technologies, combining microfluidics, optics, and imaging to enable compact platforms for sample handling, visualization, and analysis. By integrating imaging functionalities directly into miniaturized fluidic systems, optofluidic approaches offer new opportunities for biological and clinical analysis, point-of-care diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and high-throughput screening. These systems are particularly attractive where conventional imaging tools are limited by size, cost, complexity, or lack of portability.At the same time, major scientific and engineering challenges still limit the broader adoption of optofluidic imaging in real lab-on-a-chip applications. The performance of these platforms often depends on delicate trade-offs between optical resolution, imaging speed, sensitivity, throughput, and device footprint. Additional barriers include sample positioning and flow stability, motion artefacts, illumination uniformity, fabrication reproducibility, integration of optical and microfluidic components, and the need for robust computational pipelines for image reconstruction and analysis. For many systems, the key challenge is not simply imaging itself, but achieving reliable end-to-end performance in an integrated chip-based platform.This Research Topic aims to bring together contributions that address the current challenges in optofluidic imaging within the context of lab-on-a-chip technologies. We welcome studies that advance the design, fabrication, integration, and application of chip-scale imaging systems, as well as work that critically examines technical bottlenecks, benchmarking needs, and translational barriers. Of particular interest are contributions that move beyond proof-of-concept demonstrations toward robust, scalable, and application-oriented solutions.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:• Optofluidic imaging platforms for lab-on-a-chip systems• Integration of optical components with microfluidic devices• On-chip microscopy, lens-less imaging, and computational imaging• Imaging under flow and strategies for motion compensation• Single-cell and particle imaging in microfluidic environments• Fluorescence, phase, holographic, and label-free optofluidic imaging• Sample positioning, focusing, and flow control for imaging performance• Multimodal imaging and sensing in chip-based devices• Image reconstruction, AI-assisted analysis, and automated interpretation• Fabrication challenges, device reproducibility, and system standardization• Portable and low-cost imaging platforms for point-of-care and field use• Applications in diagnostics, bioanalysis, organ-on-chip systems, and environmental monitoringWe welcome Original Research, Reviews, Methods, Perspectives, and Technology Reports. Submissions that identify unmet technical needs, compare device architectures, establish performance benchmarks, or demonstrate pathways toward practical deployment are particularly encouraged. By focusing on both the promise and the unresolved challenges of optofluidic imaging, this Research Topic aims to support the development of reliable, integrated, and impactful imaging solutions for the next generation of lab-on-a-chip technologies. Topic editors: Kevin Tsia, Yanmin Zhu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82753/current-challenges-in-optofluidic-imaging-for-lab-on-a-chip-technologies