Abstract
With a video-rate third harmonic generation (THG) microscopy system, we imaged the micro-circulation beneath the human skin without labeling. Not only the speed of circulation but also the morpho-hydrodynamics of blood cells can be analyzed. Lacking of nuclei, red blood cells (RBCs) shows typical parachute-like and hollow-core morphology under THG microscopy. Quite different from RBCs, every now and then, round and granule rich blood cells with strong THG contrast appear in circulation. The corresponding volume densities in blood, evaluated from their frequencies of appearance and the velocity of circulation, fall within the physiological range of human white blood cell counts.
Highlights
Virtual optical biopsy has emerged as a field of clinical diagnosis, through which a noninvasive sectioning microscopy image is taken in vivo to help investigating the physiological or pathological conditions of diseases [1]
With a video-rate third harmonic generation (THG) microscopy system, we imaged the micro-circulation beneath the human skin without labeling
Quite different from red blood cells (RBCs), every and round and granule rich blood cells with strong THG contrast appear in circulation
Summary
Virtual optical biopsy has emerged as a field of clinical diagnosis, through which a noninvasive sectioning microscopy image is taken in vivo to help investigating the physiological or pathological conditions of diseases [1]. These molecule-enhanced THG properties, in consequence, provide intrinsic contrast mechanisms that are necessary to visualize and resolve the nucleus, organelles, or morphologies of cells in vivo [8,9,10,11,14,15,16] With these unique advantages, under the context of in vivo clinical microscopy, infrared femtosecond laser based THG microscopy is a least invasive, deep penetration depth, and labeling-free modality suitable for cell morphological diagnosis in superficial human tissues like skin [8,9] or mucosa [11]. Received 12 Jun 2012; revised 30 Aug 2012; accepted 13 Sep 2012; pub. 17 Oct 2012 1 November 2012 / Vol 3, No 11 / BIOMEDICAL OPTICS EXPRESS 2861 of circulation, the volume density of this round and bright THG-contrasted cells agrees with that of white blood cell counts for human under normal physiological conditions
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