Abstract
THE main advantage of confocal microscopes over their conventional counterparts arises from their ability to optically 'section' nearly transparent materials; the thin image slices thus obtained can be used to reconstruct three-dimensional images, a capability which is particularly useful for the study of biological specimens. Confocal microscopes have previously used either a single laser-illuminated point-source and single point-detector (which are scanned in tandem across the object) or white-light illumination with multiple point-sources and detectors. Single-point-source systems, however, do not usually form images in real time and are restricted to using available laser wavelengths. Multiple-point-source systems, on the other hand, produce images in real time but use light very inefficiently—typically 1% or less is used for imaging. Here we demonstrate a white-light, multiple-point-source method which can in principle produce images in real time with light efficiencies as high as 50%. This system is likely to find broad practical application, particularly in the imaging of weakly reflecting or weakly fluorescent specimens.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wilson, T. (ed.) Confocal Microscopy (Academic, London, 1990).
Petran, M., Hadravsky, M., Egger, M. D. & Galambas, R. J. Opt. Soc. Am. 58, 661–664 (1968).
Golay, M. J. E. J. Opt. Soc. Am. 39, 437–444 (1949).
Wilson, T. & Hewlett, S. J. J. Microsc. 163, 131–150 (1991).
Boyde, A. in Electronic Light Microscopy (ed. Shotton, D.) (Wiley-Liss, New York, 1993).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jus̆kaitis, R., Wilson, T., Neil, M. et al. Efficient real-time confocal microscopy with white light sources. Nature 383, 804–806 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/383804a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/383804a0
This article is cited by
-
Snapshot photoacoustic topography through an ergodic relay for high-throughput imaging of optical absorption
Nature Photonics (2020)
-
Confocal fluorescence microscopy of plant cells
Protoplasma (1998)
-
Random mask brightens image
Nature (1996)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.