High-Throughput Optical Microscopy for Cancer Detection

Research | High-Throughput Optical Microscopy for Cancer Detection

While useful for detailed examination of a small number of microscopic entities, conventional optical microscopy is incapable of statically relevant screening of large populations (> 1 billion) with high precision due to its low throughput and limited digital memory size. We are currently developing a new type of automated flow-through single-cell optical microscope that overcomes this

limitation by performing sensitive blur-free image acquisition and non-stop real-time image-recording and classification of a large number of cells during high-speed flow. The technology is expected to hold great promise for early, non-invasive, low-cost detection of cancer.

Serial time-encoded amplified imaging/microscopy (STEAM) is a fast real-time optical

imaging method that provides ~10 MHz frame rate, ~100 ps shutter speed, and ~30 dB ( 1000) optical image gain. As of today, STEAM holds world records for shutter speed and frame rate in continuous real-time imaging. STEAM employs the photonic time stretch along with optical image amplification to circumvent the fundamental trade-off between sensitivity and speed that affects virtually all optical imaging and sensing systems. With this calculator, you will be able to determine spatial and temporal resolution of 1D STEAM System. Please click the schematic or link to explore further.

[1] “Serial time-encoded amplified microscopy (STEAM),” Wikipedia

[2] K. Goda, K. K. Tsia, and B. Jalali, “Serial time-encoded amplified imaging for real-time observation of fast dynamic phenomena,” Nature 458, 1145 (2009)
[3] K. Goda, K. K. Tsia, and B. Jalali, “Amplified dispersive Fourier-transform imaging for ultrafast displacement sensing and barcode reading,” Applied Physics Letters 93, 131109 (2008)
[4] K. Goda, A. Ayazi, D. R. Gossett, J. Sadasivam, C. K. Lonappan, E. Sollier, A. M. Fard, S. C. Hur, J. Adam, C. Murray, C. Wang, N. Brackbill, D. Di Carlo, and B. Jalali, “High-throughput single-microparticle imaging flow analyzer,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 10.1073/pnas.1204718109 (2012)
[5] B. Jalali, P. Soon-Shiong, and K. Goda, “Breaking speed and sensitivity limits,” Optik & Photonik 2, 32 (2010)
[6] B. Jalali, K. Goda, P. Soon-Shiong, and K. K. Tsia, “Time-stretch imaging and its applications to high-throughput microscopy and microsurgery,” IEEE Photonics Society Newsletter 24, 11 (2010)