Elastic scattering is a cheap and simple-to-use tool that holds the promise of rapid and accurate diagnosis in many applications,including dysplasia arising in Barrett's esophagus. It is being developed as an optical biopsy technique, but preliminary work shows that it may be possible to use this approach as a field detection device. Even as a point measurement technique or optical biopsy, the technique may become an invaluable tool to endoscopists. This article focuses on elastic scattering spectroscopy (also known as diffuse reflectance spectroscopy).