Innovation
Technology description
The World's Smallest Microscope
It took a unique technological approach and the gathering of a multidisciplinary team to create a new imaging modality that would bring a whole new horizon to microscopy. The right combination of unique components - miniaturized optics, optical fiber bundles, high-speed scanning and advanced image processing - required years of development and resulted in the world's smallest microscope: Cellvizio®.
Flexible and Dynamic
Life is dynamic, and even more so at the cellular level. Observing tissues in vivo at the microscopic scale requires a system that can capture the dynamic of life. Cellvizio® was precisely designed to do that. The embedded real-time image processing software combined with a high-speed Laser Scanning Unit (LSU) allows Cellvizio® to produce 12 frames per second, so that the images stay sharp even at the speed of life.
Bringing microscopy to endoscopy requires flexibility. Cellvizio® was designed in such a way that only the light-carrying components would have to be inserted into the endoscope, leaving the scanning and processing outside. These optical components were assembled to form flexible Confocal MiniprobesTM and miniaturized to the point that they can be inserted into the working channel of standard endoscopes. As seen on the product description page, various models of Confocal MiniprobesTM were designed to meet the specific needs of different types of endoscopy procedures.
Confocal imaging
Cellvizio® belongs to a specific category of microscopes, called “confocal laser microscopes”. This means that the images made by Cellvizio® only come from a very thin focal plane that is optically projected into the tissues. This optical slicing capability plays the role of the physical slicing of endoscopically extracted tissues samples (or biopsies) as done in standard histology. As an analogy, the images produced by Cellvizio® are sometimes referred to as optical or virtual biopsies, although they are not entirely comparable to physical biopsies (read the FAQ for more details).
probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy
In summary, Cellvizio® introduced a new imaging modality that allows:
• video confocal laser microscopy
• through a standard endoscope
• by the insertion of a stand-alone probe
This modality is called probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (pCLE). As of today, Cellvizio® is the first and only pCLE solution available.
It took a unique technological approach and the gathering of a multidisciplinary team to create a new imaging modality that would bring a whole new horizon to microscopy. The right combination of unique components - miniaturized optics, optical fiber bundles, high-speed scanning and advanced image processing - required years of development and resulted in the world's smallest microscope: Cellvizio®.
Flexible and Dynamic
Life is dynamic, and even more so at the cellular level. Observing tissues in vivo at the microscopic scale requires a system that can capture the dynamic of life. Cellvizio® was precisely designed to do that. The embedded real-time image processing software combined with a high-speed Laser Scanning Unit (LSU) allows Cellvizio® to produce 12 frames per second, so that the images stay sharp even at the speed of life.
Bringing microscopy to endoscopy requires flexibility. Cellvizio® was designed in such a way that only the light-carrying components would have to be inserted into the endoscope, leaving the scanning and processing outside. These optical components were assembled to form flexible Confocal MiniprobesTM and miniaturized to the point that they can be inserted into the working channel of standard endoscopes. As seen on the product description page, various models of Confocal MiniprobesTM were designed to meet the specific needs of different types of endoscopy procedures.
Confocal imaging
Cellvizio® belongs to a specific category of microscopes, called “confocal laser microscopes”. This means that the images made by Cellvizio® only come from a very thin focal plane that is optically projected into the tissues. This optical slicing capability plays the role of the physical slicing of endoscopically extracted tissues samples (or biopsies) as done in standard histology. As an analogy, the images produced by Cellvizio® are sometimes referred to as optical or virtual biopsies, although they are not entirely comparable to physical biopsies (read the FAQ for more details).
probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy
In summary, Cellvizio® introduced a new imaging modality that allows:
• video confocal laser microscopy
• through a standard endoscope
• by the insertion of a stand-alone probe
This modality is called probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (pCLE). As of today, Cellvizio® is the first and only pCLE solution available.
