Lasers, Optics & Photonics

Biography

Biography: Gary Greenberg

Abstract

When Marvin Minsky invented confocal microscopy in the 1950’s, he likely did not envision the huge impact it would have on biomedical research in the 21st century. Confocal technologies have been essential for our modern understanding of how DNA, proteins, enzymes and cells function in health and disease. Confocal technologies have overcome the greatest problem with conventional microscopes, which is their extremely shallow depth of fi eld. A high-power light microscope has a depth of fi eld of only a few microns or less. Traditionally, microscopists cut tissue samples into 5 micron sections for the purpose of reducing blur from out-of-focus structures. Th is conventional approach of examining 5 micron thick sections introduces a signifi cant sampling error when looking at biological tissue because a single cell is about 20 microns in diameter. Th e results produce incomplete images that reveal only a small portion of a single cell. The great benefi t of confocal microscopes is their ability to dramatically increase the depth of fi eld though stacking images from diff erent focus levels and then reconstructing the stack of pictures into 3D images with improved sharpness and removal of out-of-focus blur. These three-dimensional microscopes provide a clear view of a thick volume of tissue, up to 100 microns thick or more. The volume of thick tissue can be observed from multiple points of view, providing signifi cantly more information about the specimen being examined. The result is increased productivity, better diagnoses and improved understanding. Edge-3D is a non-confocal light microscope that provides most of the advantages of expensive confocal instruments at a fraction of the cost and complexity of operation. Out-of-focus blur is removed using soft ware algorithms that are compatible with a range of optical systems, including, reflected illumination, transmitted illumination, oblique illumination, brightfi eld, darkfi eld, phase contrast, DIC, polarization and livecell imaging. Multiple modes of 3D display, including real-time 3D imaging, expose hidden depth information and reveal the relationships between diff erent structures within the specimen being observed. An additional benefi t is the ability to measure the structures within the specimen in 3D. He will talk about the history of 3D microscopy and present dramatic 3D images from a range of application areas, including, neurobiology, plant biology, entomology, forensic sciences and the geology of the lunar sand.