A completely new type of microscope can take 3D images of cells -- while working in a natural environment. The new technology is significantly faster and better than before and will give researchers new opportunities.
From: UiT The Arctic University of Norway
November 22, 2022 -- To
observe living cells through a microscope, a sample is usually squeezed onto a
glass slide. It then lies there calmly and the cells are observable. The
disadvantage is that this limits how the cells behave and it only produces
two-dimensional images.
Researchers from UiT
The Arctic University of Norway and the University Hospital of North Norway
(UNN) have now developed what they are referring to as the next generation
microscope. The new technology can take pictures of much larger samples than
before, while living and working in a more natural environment.
A major development
The technology provides
3D images where researchers can study the smallest details from several angles,
clearly and visibly, sorted into different layers and all layers are in focus.
3D microscopes do
already exist, but they work slowly and give poorer results. The most common
type works by recording pixel after pixel in series, which are then assembled
into a 3D image. This takes time and often they can't handle more than 1-5
shots a minute. It's not very practical if what you're going to photograph
something that moves.
"With our
technology, we can manage around 100 full frames per second. And we believe it
is possible to increase this number. This is just what we have demonstrated
with our prototype," says Florian Ströhl, researcher at UiT.
The new microscope is a
so-called multifocus microscope, which provides completely clear images, sorted
into different layers, where you can study the cells from all angles.
"It's a big deal.
The fact that we manage to get all this in one take, it is a huge
development," says Ströhl.
Can see behind objects
Ströhl explains that we
are not talking about 3D in the form most of us know it. While in a traditional
3D image you will be able to perceive some kind of depth, with the new
technology you are also be able to see behind objects.
Ströhl uses an example
where you see a jungle scene in 3D at the cinema.
"In a normal 3D
image, you can see that the forest has a depth, that some leaves and trees are
closer than others. With the same technology used in our new 3D microscope, you
are also able to see the tiger hiding behind the bushes. You are able to see
and study several layers independently," says Ströhl.
Now you do not use a
microscope to look for tigers in the jungle, but for researchers this can be an
important tool when looking for answers in the minutest details.
Studying heart cells --
while they beat
Ströhl has collaborated
with researchers and doctors from the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN)
in the development of this technology.
Among other things,
they work to understand and develop better treatment methods for various heart
diseases.
Studying a living human
heart is challenging, both for technical reasons and not least for ethical
reasons. Thus, researchers have used stem cells that are manipulated so that
they mimic heart cells. In this way, they can grow organic tissue that behaves
as it would in a human heart, and they can study and test this tissue to
understand more about what is happening.
This tissue is almost
like a small lump of live meat, about 1 cm in size. This makes for a very
demanding test situation, where heart cells beat and are in constant motion
along it the fact that the sample is too large to study with traditional
microscopes. The new microscope handles this well.
"You have this
pumping lump of meat in a bowl, which you want to take microscope pictures of.
You want to view at the very smallest parts of this, and you want super high
resolution. We have achieved this with the new microscope," says Ströhl.
Formula 1 division
Kenneth Bowitz Larsen
heads a large laboratory with advanced microscopes that are used by all the
research groups at the Faculty of Health at UiT. He has tested this new
microscope, and is optimistic.
"The concept is
brilliant, the microscope they have built does things that the commercial
systems do not," Larsen explains. The laboratory he heads mainly uses
commercial microscopes from suppliers such as Zeiss, Nikon, etc.
"Then we also
collaborate with research groups like the one Florian Ströhl represents. They
build microscopes and test optical concepts, they are in a way like the formula
1 division of microscopy," Larsen says. Larsen has great faith in the new
microscope Ströhl has created.
The commercial
microscopes must be usable for all kinds of possible samples, while the
microscope Ströhl has developed is more tailored to a specific task.
"It is very
photosensitive, and it can depict the specimen in various focuses. It can work
its way through the sample and you can view both high and low. And it happens
so fast that it can practically be seen in real time. It's an extremely fast
microscope," Larsen says.
According to Larsen,
the tests so far show that this works well, and he believes this type of
microscope can eventually be used on all types of samples where you look at
living things that move.
He also sees another
advantage with the speed of this microscope.
"Bright lights are
not kind to cells. Since this microscope is so fast, it exposes the cells to
much shorter illumination and is therefore more gentle," he explains.
The technology is
patented
The prototype of the
microscope works and is operational. The researchers are currently working on
creating an upgraded version that is easier to use, so that more people are
able to operate and use the microscope.
The researchers have
also applied for a patent and are also looking for industrial partners who will
develop this into a microscope that will be available for sale.
In the meantime, the
prototype will be made available to local partners who can benefit from the new
technology.
"We will also
offer it to others in Norway, if they have particularly demanding samples that
they want examined," says Ströhl.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221122111441.htm
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