TBA

Confocal laser-scanning microscopy (CLSM) has long been celebrated in life-science research for its unique blend of spatial and temporal resolution, coupled with its versatile applications. However, recent advancements in detector technology have sparked a transformative shift in CLSM, triggered by the introduction of novel single-photon array detectors. These detectors, poised to supplant single-element detectors (also known as bucket detectors), offer access to previously discarded sample information, reshaping the trajectory of CLSM. In traditional CLSM, images are generated by raster scanning a focused laser beam across the sample, with single-element detectors registering a single-intensity value at each sample position. In contrast, single-photon array detectors capture true temporal images at each scanning position, transitioning CLSM into image scanning microscopy (ISM). Image scanning microscopy transcends traditional CLSM by generating not merely a two-dimensional dataset but a five-dimensional one, incorporating four spatial dimensions and a temporal dimension. This enables the reconstruction of highly informative and super-resolved images of the sample. This seminar will delve into the foundational principles of ISM, starting with the formulation of the forward model underlying the technique. Subsequently, a maximum likelihood approach, considering Poissonian noise, will be presented for reconstructing super-resolved images from the four-dimensional spatial dataset. An extension of this framework will incorporate the temporal dimension, enabling the reconstruction of fluorescence lifetime images that integrate structural and functional sample information. Furthermore, the seminar will explore leveraging the ISM dataset and deep learning techniques to accurately estimate the point-spread function of the optical system. This has the potential to significantly enhance the quality of reconstructed super-resolved images. By elucidating these advancements and future prospects, this seminar aims to inspire researchers to harness the full potential of ISM in pushing the boundaries of biomedical imaging.