Label- and slide-free tissue histology using 3D epi-mode quantitative phase imaging and virtual hematoxylin and eosin staining.

Histological staining of tissue biopsies, especially hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, serves as the benchmark for disease diagnosis and comprehensive clinical assessment of tissue. However, the typical formalin-fixation, paraffin-embedding (FFPE) process is laborious and time consuming, often limiting its usage in time-sensitive applications such as surgical margin assessment. To address these challenges, we combine an emerging 3D quantitative phase imaging technology, termed quantitative oblique back illumination microscopy (qOBM), with an unsupervised generative adversarial network pipeline to map qOBM phase images of unaltered thick tissues (i.

GAN-based quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy enables computationally efficient epi-mode refractive index tomography.

Quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy (qOBM) is a novel imaging technology that enables epi-mode 3D quantitative phase imaging and refractive index (RI) tomography of thick scattering samples. The technology uses four oblique back illumination images captured at the same focal plane and a fast 2D deconvolution reconstruction algorithm to reconstruct 2D phase cross-sections of thick samples. Alternatively, a through-focus z-stack of oblique back illumination images can be used to recover 3D RI tomograms with improved RI quantitative fidelity at the cost of a more computationally expensive reconstruction algorithm.

Non-Invasive Label-free Analysis Pipeline for In Situ Characterization of Differentiation in 3D Brain Organoid Models.

Brain organoids provide a unique opportunity to model organ development in a system similar to human organogenesis . Brain organoids thus hold great promise for drug screening and disease modeling. Conventional approaches to organoid characterization predominantly rely on molecular analysis methods, which are expensive, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and involve the destruction of the valuable 3D architecture of the organoids.

Label-Free Functional Analysis of Root-Associated Microbes with Dynamic Quantitative Oblique Back-illumination Microscopy.

The increasing global demand for food, coupled with concerns about the environmental impact of synthetic fertilizers, underscores the urgency of developing sustainable agricultural practices. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria, known as diazotrophs, offer a potential solution by converting atmospheric nitrogen into bioavailable forms, reducing the reliance on synthetic fertilizers. However, a deeper understanding of their interactions with plants and other microbes is needed.

Real-time semantic segmentation and anomaly detection of functional images for cell therapy manufacturing.

Background Aims: Cell therapy is a promising treatment method that uses living cells to address a variety of diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, neurologic disorders and certain cancers. As interest in cell therapy grows, there is a need to shift to a more efficient, scalable and automated manufacturing process that can produce high-quality products at a lower cost.

Methods: One way to achieve this is using non-invasive imaging and real-time image analysis techniques to monitor and control the manufacturing process.

Analysis of structural effects of sickle cell disease on brain vasculature of mice using three-dimensional quantitative phase imaging.

Significance: Although the molecular origins of sickle cell disease (SCD) have been extensively studied, the effects of SCD on the vasculature-which can influence blood clotting mechanisms, pain crises, and strokes-are not well understood. Improving this understanding can yield insight into the mechanisms and wide-ranging effects of this devastating disease.

Aim: We aim to demonstrate the ability of a label-free 3D quantitative phase imaging technology, called quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy (qOBM), to provide insight into the effects of SCD on brain vasculature.

Label- and slide-free tissue histology using 3D epi-mode quantitative phase imaging and virtual H&E staining.

Histological staining of tissue biopsies, especially hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, serves as the benchmark for disease diagnosis and comprehensive clinical assessment of tissue. However, the process is laborious and time-consuming, often limiting its usage in crucial applications such as surgical margin assessment. To address these challenges, we combine an emerging 3D quantitative phase imaging technology, termed quantitative oblique back illumination microscopy (qOBM), with an unsupervised generative adversarial network pipeline to map qOBM phase images of unaltered thick tissues (i.

Optimization of a flexible fiber-optic probe for epi-mode quantitative phase imaging.

Quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy (qOBM) is an emerging label-free optical imaging technology that enables 3D, tomographic quantitative phase imaging (QPI) with epi-illumination in thick scattering samples. In this work, we present a robust optimization of a flexible, fiber-optic-based qOBM system. Our approach enables in silico optimization of the phase signal-to-noise-ratio over a wide parameter space and obviates the need for tedious experimental optimization which could easily miss optimal conditions.

Functional imaging with dynamic quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy.

Significance: Quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy (qOBM) is a recently developed label-free imaging technique that enables 3D quantitative phase imaging of thick scattering samples with epi-illumination. Here, we propose dynamic qOBM to achieve functional imaging based on subcellular dynamics, potentially indicative of metabolic activity. We show the potential utility of this novel technique by imaging adherent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) grown in bioreactors, which can help address important unmet needs in cell manufacturing for therapeutics.

On the use of fluorescein-based contrast agents as analogs to MRI-gadolinium agents for imaging brain tumors.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of gadolinium (Gd)-based contrast agents plays a central role in managing the treatment of intracranial tumors. These images are involved in diagnosis, surgical planning, surgical navigation, and postoperative assessment of extent of resection. Replicating the information from Gd-MRI in the visual surgical field using fluorescent agents that behave similar to gadolinium in vivo would represent a major advance for surgical intervention of these tumors, and could provide robust compensation information to update pre-operative MRI images during surgery.