Three-dimensional high-speed multi-fluorescence SCAPE microscopy

This technology is a high-speed 3D imaging platform that detects multiple fluorophores in biological specimens using improved swept confocally-aligned planar excitation (SCAPE) microscopy.

Unmet Need: High-speed imaging of fluorescent biological specimens in 3D

Confocal and two-photon microscopy are the leading approaches for imaging specimens for biomedical research. However, these technologies are costly, complex, and limited in their ability to image three-dimensional specimens at high speeds. These methods also have a low threshold of fluorophores they can detect in a given sample.

The Technology: High-speed SCAPE microscopy for detection of multiplexed fluorophores

This technology utilizes swept confocally-aligned planar excitation (SCAPE) microscopy for high-speed, multispectral imaging of 3D biological specimens at a high resolution. This technology can image intact and freely moving living samples at a much higher resolution than prior SCAPE systems while maintaining a large field of view. Moreover, this technology can perform high-speed spectrally multiplexed imaging, allowing one to detect more targets in each sample. This allows for improvements to resolution, throughput, field of view, penetration depth, and overall utility of the SCAPE system.

This technology has been validated in C. elegans worms.

Applications:

• In vivo 3D imaging of live organisms
• Histopathology in fresh tissues
• Veterinary imaging
• Diagnostic imaging tool
• Time-lapse microscopy of live organisms and tissues
• Basic science research tool

Advantages:

• High-speed
• Cost-effective
• Detects multiple fluorophores
• Three-dimensional
• Images a large field of view
• Reduces photodamage to tissues

Lead Inventor:

Elizabeth Hillman, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending (WO/2023/183516)

Related Publications:

• Patel KB, Liang W, Casper MJ, Voleti V, Li W, Yagielski AJ, Zhao HT, Perez Campos C, Lee GS, Liu JM, Philipone E, Yoon AJ, Olive KP, Coley SM, Hillman EMC. “High-speed light-sheet microscopy for the in-situ acquisition of volumetric histological images of living tissue” Nat Biomed Eng. 2022 May;6(5):569-583.

• Voleti V, Patel KB, Li W, Perez Campos C, Bharadwaj S, Yu H, Ford C, Casper MJ, Yan RW, Liang W, Wen C, Kimura KD, Targoff KL, Hillman EMC. “Real-time volumetric microscopy of in vivo dynamics and large-scale samples with SCAPE 2.0” Nat Methods. 2019 Oct;16(10):1054-1062.

• Bouchard MB, Voleti V, Mendes CS, Lacefield C, Grueber WB, Mann RS, Bruno RM, Hillman EM. “Swept confocally-aligned planar excitation (SCAPE) microscopy for high speed volumetric imaging behaving organisms” Nat Photonics. 2015 Feb;9(2):113-119.

Tech Ventures Reference:

• CU21252, CU21253, CU21254

• Licensing Contact: Kristin Neuman