Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy

This book focuses on the emerging non-invasive imaging technique of Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy (FLIO). FLIO reveals unique information on retinal diseases, ranging from age-related macular degeneration and vascular diseases to hereditary retinal dystrophies. Fluorescence lifetimes enable the evaluation of disease progression before irreversible structural changes occur. The image acquisition is suitable for diagnostic purposes and follow-up examinations to investigate the natural course of disease, and to monitor the effects of possible therapies. This book fills the gap between available literature and gives state-of-the-art guidance on the principles of the FLIO technique, image acquisition, and data analysis. Written by a team of expert leaders within this field, this book will be relevant for scientists and clinicians with an interest in ophthalmoscopy.

This open access book provides a comprehensive overview of the application of the newest laser and microscope/ophthalmoscope technology in the field of high resolution imaging in microscopy and ophthalmology. Starting by describing High-Resolution 3D Light Microscopy with STED and RESOLFT, the book goes on to cover retinal and anterior segment imaging and image-guided treatment and also discusses the development of adaptive optics in vision science and ophthalmology. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the reader will learn about the latest developments and most up to date technology in the field and how these translate to a medical setting. High Resolution Imaging in Microscopy and Ophthalmology – New Frontiers in Biomedical Optics has been written by leading experts in the field and offers insights on engineering, biology, and medicine, thus being a valuable addition for scientists, engineers, and clinicians with technical and medical interest who would like to understand the equipment, the applications and the medical/biological background. Lastly, this book is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Gerhard Zinser, co-founder of Heidelberg Engineering GmbH, a scientist, a husband, a brother, a colleague, and a friend.

Featuring over 250 illustrations, this detailed full-color textbook provides up-to-date information on the use of fundus autofluorescence imaging in evaluation of retinal disease. Chapters describe the techniques available to image and quantify fundus autofluorescence and the autofluorescence patterns observed in the healthy eye and in various retinal diseases. Emphasis is on the value of fundus autofluorescence as a diagnostic and prognostic tool and its clinical utility in the context of other imaging techniques, such as fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography and optical coherence tomography. Each chapter also discusses the value of fundus autofluorescence in understanding the pathogenesis of the condition, and provides a comprehensive update on all aspects of the condition. A companion Website will offer the fully searchable text and an image bank.

This monograph focuses on modern femtosecond laser microscopes for two photon imaging and nanoprocessing, on laser tweezers for cell micromanipulation as well as on fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) in Life Sciences. The book starts with an introduction by Dr. Wolfgang Kaiser, pioneer of nonlinear optics and ends with the chapter on clinical multiphoton tomography, the novel high resolution imaging technique. It includes a foreword by the nonlinear microscopy expert Dr. Colin Sheppard. Contents Part I: Basics Brief history of fluorescence lifetime imaging The long journey to the laser and its use for nonlinear optics Advanced TCSPC-FLIM techniques Ultrafast lasers in biophotonics Part II: Modern nonlinear microscopy of live cells STED microscopy: exploring fluorescence lifetime gradients for super-resolution at reduced illumination intensities Principles and applications of temporal-focusing wide-field two-photon microscopy FLIM-FRET microscopy TCSPC FLIM and PLIM for metabolic imaging and oxygen sensing Laser tweezers are sources of two-photon effects Metabolic shifts in cell proliferation and differentiation Femtosecond laser nanoprocessing Cryomultiphoton imaging Part III: Nonlinear tissue imaging Multiphoton Tomography (MPT) Clinical multimodal CARS imaging In vivo multiphoton microscopy of human skin Two-photon microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging of the cornea Multiscale correlative imaging of the brain Revealing interaction of dyes and nanomaterials by multiphoton imaging Multiphoton FLIM in cosmetic clinical research Multiphoton microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging for resection guidance in malignant glioma surgery Non-invasive single-photon and multi-photon imaging of stem cells and cancer cells in mouse models Bedside assessment of multiphoton tomography

Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting Modules SPC-130EMN, SPC-130EMNX, SPC-130IN, SPC-130INX, SPC-150N, SPC-150NX, SPC-150NXX, SPC-160, SPC-160PCIE, SPC-180N, SPC-180NX, SPC-180NXX Detectors, Lasers and Peripheral Devices Simple-Tau Systems Technical Principles TCSPC Applications FLIM Systems Applications in Life Sciences Clinical FLIM Applications SPCM Software SPCImage NG Data Analysis Software Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is an amazingly sensitive technique for recording low-level light signals with picosecond resolution and extremely high precision.TCSPC originates from the measurement of excited nuclear states and has been used since the late 60s [775, 1250]. For many years TCSPC was used primarily to record fluorescence decay curves of organic dyes in solution. Due to the low intensity and low repetition rate of the light sources and the limited speed of the electronics of the 70s and 80s the acquisition times were extremely long. More important, classic TCSPC was intrinsically one-dimensional, i.e. limited to the recording of the waveform of a periodic light signal. Light sources ceased to be a limitation when the first mode-locked Argon lasers and synchronously pumped dye lasers were introduced. For the recording electronics, the situation changed with the introduction of the SPC-300 modules of Becker & Hickl in 1993. Due to a new analog-to-digital conversion principle these modules could be used at photon count rates almost 100 times higher than the classic TCSPC devices. Moreover, the modules were able to record the photons of a large number of detectors simultaneously. They were thus able to record a photon distribution not only versus the time in a fluorescence decay but also versus aspatial coordinate or the wavelength of the photons. Multi-dimensional TCSPC was born. Within a few years, more dimensions were added to multidimensional TCSPC. Fast sequential recording was introduced with the SPC-430 in 1995, fast scanning with the SPC-535 in 1997. Time-tag recording was introduced with the SPC-431 in 1996; multi-module TCSPC systems followed in 1999. Since then, the Becker & Hickl TCSPC systems became bigger, faster and more flexible. Recent TCSPC modules, like the SPC-150NX or the SPC-180, can be configured for sequential recording, imaging, or time-tag recording by a simple software command. Multi-module systems, like the SPC-134EM and SPC-154, can be used for scanning at unprecedented count rates and acquisition speeds. Nevertheless, TCSPC still has the reputation to be an extremely sluggish technique unable to record any fast changes in the fluorescence or scattering behaviour of a sample. The multidimensional features of modern TCSPC are not commonly understood. Thus, many users do not make efficient use of their SPC modules. However, if appropriately used, multidimensional TCSPC techniques not only deliver superior results but also solve highly sophisticated measurement problems. This handbook is an attempt to help existing and potential users understand and make use of the advanced features of modern TCSPC. After an introduction into the bh TCSPC devices and associated detector, laser, and experiment control modules the principles of advanced TCSPC techniques are described. These include multidetector TCSPC, multiplexed TCSPC, sequential recording techniques, scanning techniques, parameter-tag recording, and multi-module TCSPC techniques. The next chapter describes the architecture of the bh SPC modules. A chapter about detectors gives a review of detector principles and of the parameters used to characterise detectors. It describes a number of detectors commonly used for TCSPC and gives advice about obtaining best performance from them. The implementation of bh SPC devices is described in the next part of the handbook. It includes principles and wiring diagrams for typical experiments, guidelines for first system setup, and advice for system optimisation. It describes dead-time, counting loss, and pile-up effects, detector effects, and effects related to the optical system. The next chapter of the handbook is dedicated to TCSPC applications. The first part of this chapter describes the measurement of fluorescence and anisotropy decay curves, multispectral lifetime experiments, recording of transient fluorescence lifetime phenomena, and measurements of phosphorescence decay curves. The second part of the chapter is dedicated to time-resolved laser scanning microscopy. It contains sections on a wide variety of fluorescence-lifetime imaging (FLIM) experiments and procedures, such as FLIM with various excitation principles, excitation sources, and detection principles, high-speed and time-series FLIM, Z-stack FLIM, simultaneous fluorescence and phosphorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM/PLIM), fluorescence lifetime-transient scanning (FLITS), and FLIM with special microscope configurations. A third part contains FLIM background knowledge: Signal-to-noise ratio, acquisition time, the effect of counting loss and pile-up, photobleaching, and fluorescence depolarisation on the recorded data. The book contains a large chapter on TCSPC applications, most of them in Biology. It contains sections on FLIM of molecular environment parameters in tissue, FLIM-based FRET measurements in cells, autofluorescence FLIM of biological tissue, plant physiology, and clinical FLIM applications. A section about diffuse optical tomography (DOT) by NIRS techniques includes breast imaging, static and functional brain imaging, perfusion measurement in the human brain, diffuse tissue spectroscopy, and small-animal imaging. Picosecond photon correlation, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, burst-integrated fluorescence lifetime techniques, and photon counting histogram techniques are reviewed in the next sections. The last part of the application chapter gives an review of non-biological TCSPC applications like positron lifetime measurement, measurement of barrier discharges, remote sensing, metrological applications, and characterisation of detectors. The application chapter also includes practical hints about optical systems, detectors, and other technical aspects of the applications described. Another large chapter describes the SPCM operating software of the bh SPC modules. It describes the various user interface configurations, operation modes, the system and control parameters, the handling and display of the multidimensional data recorded by the modules, and the associated data file structure. The TCSPC Handbook also contains a chapter on the SPCImage NG fluorescence decay and FLIM data analysis software. It describes the general principles of fluorescence decay analysis, the calculation of fluorescence decay parameters and lifetime images by various decay models, pseudo-global analysis, multi-wavelength FLIM analysis, batch-processing of FLIM series, and analysis of PLIM data. The handbook ends with a list of more than 1200 references related to TCSPC, most of them being applications of the bh SPC devices.

Make optimal use of fundus autofluorescence in your practice! Fundus Autofluorescence, by esteemed authorities Noemi Lois and John V. Forrester, explains everything you need to know about fundus autofluorescence (AF), from the basics of this powerful ocular imaging modality to the latest diagnostic and prognostic applications. A “who’s who” of leading experts provide the up-to-date, clinically focused guidance you need to effectively evaluate a full range of posterior segment disorders. Master the latest AF techniques and applications with 35 brand-new chapters exploring vascular retinal diseases, posterior uveitis, intraocular tumors, and much more, plus comprehensive updates and enhancements throughout. Learn about the newest autofluorescence technologies, including wide-angle fundus autofluorescence, near-infrared autofluorescence and quantitative autofluorescence. Accurately diagnose posterior segment conditions. Get clear explanations of the science behind the synthesis and degradation of lipofuscin, the techniques available to image and quantify AF, the normal distribution of AF, and alterations occurring in a variety of posterior segment diseases. See plentiful examples of AF findings in each chapter, with clear explanations of the value of this imaging technique in the evaluation of patients and understanding of the pathogenesis of each condition depicted.

This book offers an overview of imaging techniques used to investigate cells and tissue in their native environment. It covers the range of imaging approaches used, as well as the application of those techniques to the study of biological processes in cells and whole tissues within living organisms.