Principles of in Vivo Confocal Microscopy Publisher



Abdi P¹ ; Atighehchian M¹ Show Affiliations
Source: In Vivo Confocal Microscopy in Eye Disease Published:2022

Abstract

Three-dimensional visualization of biological tissues has been a challenge over the years. A number of modern digital optical technologies have been developed and in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) is one of the optical imaging techniques that has been widely used in research and, more recently, in specialist ophthalmology clinics. The principle of IVCM is based on confocality of the light source and the detector plane. The type of confocal microscope design can be determined by its method of scanning and how the images are constructed. Modern confocal microscopes have better image quality due to new scanning technologies that decrease image artifacts. In addition, non-contact in vivo confocal microscopy has also been developed in which the contact cap over the microscope is removed and replaced by long focal length objective lenses. In this chapter, the principles of IVCM are reviewed and the various types of confocal microscopes will be discussed including: Laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) Tandem scanning confocal microscope (TSCM) Slit-scanning confocal microscope Swept-field confocal microscopy (SFC) Noncontact confocal laser scanning microscopy. © Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2022.