Chinese physicists have presented technology that can be used to observe microscopic phenomena
The diffraction of light imposes a limitation onspatial resolution of optical microscopy, which makes it difficult to study finer structures. To solve this problem, researchers have developed many alternative survey methods that allow us to study objects at the nanoscale, but all of them slow down the acquisition rate.
The new technology combines improved timingcompression microscopy with super-resolution image reconstruction based on deep learning. To increase the speed of shooting, the researchers use the reconstruction of several images from a single compressed image.
The developed algorithm uses the estimatemotion, fusion estimation, scene correction, and super-resolution processing to extract super-resolution image sequences from source images.
To demonstrate how the technology works, researchersvisualized the flow of fluorescent beads in the microchannel. After reconstruction, they received a series of images taken at a frequency of 1200 frames per second and a spatial resolution of 100 nm.
This work is a powerful toolto observe high-speed dynamics of fine structures, especially in fluid mechanics and biomedicine, for example, to measure microflow velocity, study organelle interactions, intracellular transport, and neuronal dynamics.
Shian Zhang, study co-author from East China Normal University
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On the cover: an artistic illustration of how the technology works. Image: Shian Zhang, East China Normal University