Phase gradient microscopy in thick tissue with oblique back-illumination

TL;DR

This paper introduces oblique back-illumination microscopy (OBM), a novel phase imaging technique that enables in vivo imaging of thick tissues using a miniaturized probe, overcoming limitations of traditional phase contrast methods.

Contribution

The authors develop OBM, a new microscopy method that allows phase gradient imaging of thick scattering tissues with potential for endoscopic applications.

Findings

Enables near video-rate in vivo phase imaging

Suitable for thick scattering biological samples

Compatible with miniaturized endoscopic probes

Abstract

Phase contrast techniques, such as differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, are widely used to provide morphological images of unstained biological samples. The trans-illumination geometry required for these techniques has restricted their application to thin samples. We introduce oblique back-illumination microscopy (OBM), a method of collecting en face phase gradient images of thick scattering samples, enabling near video-rate in vivo phase imaging with a miniaturized probe suitable for endoscopy.