  Brillouin spectroscopy and imaging are emerging techniques in analytical
science, biophotonics and biomedicine. They are based on Brillouin light
scattering from acoustic waves or phonons in the GHz range, providing a
nondestructive contactless probe of the mechanics on a micro-scale. Novel
approaches and applications of these techniques to the field of biomedical
sciences are discussed highlighting the theoretical foundations and
experimental methods that have been developed to date, acknowledging that this
is a fast moving field and a comprehensive account of the relevant literature
is critically assessed here.
