Scattered light yields three-dimensional views through tissue
A laboratory imaging method recovered three-dimensional fluorescent structures through scattering material, including mouse skin. Fixed cells, tissue specimens and intact frog embryos supplied the demonstrations. The peer-reviewed study combines angular light measurements with computation; limited resolution and processing time constrain its use for rapidly changing living samples. A preprint had appeared in April.
Science··Night
Tissue scattering leaves usable angular information
Fluorescent objects became visible in three dimensions after researchers combined light arriving from different angles with computational image recovery. Biological tissue normally scrambles those signals, obscuring depth and shape. In this single peer-reviewed study, an optical arrangement retained angular information from the scattered light and used it to reconstruct the specimen. The method appeared in Nature Communications on November 1, following an April preprint.[1]
Skin-covered specimens and frog embryos were imaged
Tests with fluorescent beads achieved approximate resolutions of 4 micrometres across the image and 9 micrometres along its depth. Pollen and cultured cells were also examined behind mouse skin measuring 150 micrometres in thickness. Further demonstrations recovered nuclear positions in mouse muscle samples and intact frog embryos. These experiments covered both a scattering layer above the target and structures embedded within scattering tissue.[1]
Larger views require separate acquisitions
Within one field, depth was recovered without mechanically scanning the specimen or separately measuring the distorted wavefront; a rotating diffuser still formed part of the illumination. Covering a wider area required moving between fields and stitching their volumes. The current implementation favours static, fixed specimens and offline reconstruction. Its processing burden limits rapid live imaging, and its spatial resolution was lower than the confocal system used for comparison.[1]
