Using a combination of advanced microscope imaging and computer analysis, a new technique from University of Illinois researchers gives pathologists a window into the structures and molecules inside tissues and cells. The fast diagnostic assessments are done without using chemical stains or dyes.
The new, advanced imaging technique instead scans the sample with infrared light to directly measure the chemical composition of the cells. The computer then translates spectral information from the microscope into chemical stain patterns.
"One of the bottlenecks in automated pathology is the extensive processing that must be applied to stained images to correct for staining artifacts and inconsistencies," said David Mayerich, post-doctoral fellow at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
The researchers reproduced a wide array of molecular stains by computationally isolating the spectra of specific molecules. The user simply tunes to a required stain, for as many different stains as are necessary – all without damaging the original tissue sample, which can then be used for other tests.
