Digital and intelligent light field manipulation empowering biomedical imaging: a systematic review

Digital and intelligent light field manipulation technology has emerged as a revolutionary driving force in biomedical imaging, providing unprecedented solutions to correct imaging system aberrations, overcome biological tissue scattering, and surmount limitations in imaging performance. This paper focuses on light field manipulation technology and incorporates key concepts such as artificial intelligence, computational optical imaging, and biomedical imaging. We retrieved all literature indexed in the PubMed and Superstar Journals databases from 2015 to 2025. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we ultimately included 99 high-quality papers to systematically review and summarize the developmental trajectory and novel paradigms of digital and intelligent light field manipulation, alongside the advancements in biomedical imaging that it has enabled over the past decade, including super-resolution microscopy, deep-tissue imaging, high-speed, high-throughput, and high-dimensional imaging. This work aims to provide valuable references and guidance for researchers and technical developers in related fields, and to promote the further development of digital and intelligent light field manipulation technology in biomedical imaging.