A brief history of biology imaging

As far back as written history tells us, man has been driven to understand origins of life.

As part of that quest, the first microscope was invented by Antony von Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) so he could examine the fine weave of textiles. While testing his lenses, he discovered small creatures he called “animacules” in samples of pond water.

At the end of the 19th century, discoveries in physics started to change the way that man perceived the world around him. At that time, man probably never imagined using those principals to delve deeper into the world within. Somewhere around 1889, Heinrich Hertz discovered radio waves and later, on November 8, 1895 Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered what he called x-rays.

That same year, Marie Curie decided to conduct a systematic investigation into what was then called “mysterious uranium waves.” The results of Dr. Curie’s experiments were not long coming, discovering that thorium gave of similar rays to those of uranium and that the strength of the radiation did not depend on the compound being used but rather on the quantity of thorium or uranium being used.

In the early 20th century, Albert Einstein, even if later highly skeptical of quantum mechanics, revealed to the world his revolutionary work on the quantic nature of light. Einstein's theory deals with the energetic exchanges between atoms and molecules, their interaction with quantic light particles called photons, and the results of those interactions. One of those results is radiated energy in the form of fluorescence, which is at the heart of Mauna Kea's confocal optical imaging technology.

Starting with Galileo and through to the modern era of experimental physics, which led to Einstein’s theories that revolutionized astronomy and astrophysics, we have seen many advances in these domains adapted to uses much closer to home. New imaging technologies, ranging from seemingly simple digital cameras to complex medical imaging systems, are among the most widespread uses.

In the latter-half of the last century, imaging technologies like CT scanners, and MRIs changed the way doctors treated patients by offering them extraordinary new tools to look inside the human body. Unfortunately, the definition of these new imaging tools was limited to providing macroscopic (relatively large) views of organs and other body parts. True, there are tools that enable even higher-definition imaging, like electron microscopes, but these techniques denature organic matter when the scanning beam comes into contact with it, limiting their usefulness to a certain extent.

Man compensated for the limitations in medical imaging by relying on more basic tools, like traditional microscopes, to analyze tissue at the cellular level (see Bridging the gap). The combination of these technologies has enables us to diagnose and treat pathologies like cancer (see What’s at stake), better and faster, all the while improving our techniques as time went on.

Over the past ten years, the progress in medical imaging has been almost unbelievable. But, a simple question remained… how can we image inside the living organism, at the microscopic level, without damaging it?

At the turn of the 21st century, Mauna Kea Technologies' founders envisioned a way of complementing the 20th century’s remarkable medical imaging advances with a completely new approach to the problem. Cellvizio combines the benefits of molecular imaging with those found uniquely in optical imaging to give clinicians and researchers the tools they need to improve our quality of life.

Click here to learn more about Mauna Kea Technologies available products and what is at stake.