Super-resolved 3-D imaging of live cells organelles from bright-field photon transmission micrographs

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel algorithm for 3-D reconstruction of live cell organelles from bright-field microscopy, enabling high-resolution, label-free imaging comparable to electron microscopy.

Contribution

The authors developed a new computational method that reconstructs 3-D cellular structures from bright-field images with detection limits limited only by the microscope's technical specifications.

Findings

Achieved detection of objects as small as one camera pixel.

Produced 3-D reconstructions comparable to electron microscopy.

Suppressed camera noise using Rényi entropy-based variables.

Abstract

Current biological and medical research is aimed at obtaining a detailed spatiotemporal map of a live cell's interior to describe and predict cell's physiological state. We present here an algorithm for complete 3-D modelling of cellular structures from a z-stack of images obtained using label-free wide-field bright-field light-transmitted microscopy. The method visualizes 3-D objects with a volume equivalent to the area of a camera pixel multiplied by the z-height. The computation is based on finding pixels of unchanged intensities between two consecutive images of an object spread function. These pixels represent strongly light-diffracting, light-absorbing, or light-emitting objects. To accomplish this, variables derived from R\'{e}nyi entropy are used to suppress camera noise. Using this algorithm, the detection limit of objects is only limited by the technical specifications of the microscope setup--we achieve the detection of objects of the size of one camera pixel. This method allows us to obtain 3-D reconstructions of cells from bright-field microscopy images that are comparable in quality to those from electron microscopy images.