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Optic fibre bundle contact imaging probe employing a laser scanning confocal microscope
Author(s) -
Dubaj V.,
Mazzolini A.,
Wood A.,
Harris M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2818.2002.01052.x
Subject(s) - confocal , microscope , optics , materials science , fluorescence , pinhole (optics) , 4pi microscope , laser scanning , confocal microscopy , confocal laser scanning microscopy , microscopy , laser , fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy , optical microscope , fluorescence microscope , scanning electron microscope , biomedical engineering , medicine , multiphoton fluorescence microscope , physics
Summary A small diameter (600 µm) fused optic fibre imaging bundle was used as a probe to compare fluorescent specimens by direct contact imaging using both a conventional fluorescence microscope and a laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) system. Green fluorescent polyester fibres placed on a green fluorescent cardboard background were used to model biological tissue. Axial displacement curves support the hypothesis that pinhole size in the LSCM system reduces the contribution of non‐focal plane light. Qualitative comparison showed that the LSCM system produced superior image quality and contrast over the conventional system. The results indicate that the new LSCM–probe combination is an improvement over conventional fluorescence–probe systems. This study shows the feasibility of employing such a small diameter probe in the investigation of biological function in difficult to access areas.