Latest microscopy lab product offers 3D imaging

One of the latest microscopy products that clinical laboratories may soon be able to take advantage of is a lens-less microscope capable of creating 3D images.

Experts at the University of California, Los Angeles have come up with the first on-chip demonstration of optical tomographic imaging without a lens.

The tiny system could result in faster lab work along with equipment cost savings in the long run.

It creates 3D images by shining a light on partially transparent organic matter to cast shadows that reveal their outlines and details of their sub-cellular structures. The light can be rotated to see these from various angles, allowing them to be captured in 3D.

More information on the research - which was funded by the National Science Foundation, the US Office of Naval Research and the National Institutes of Health, among other organisations - can be found in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Another of the latest microscopy discoveries that have been made recently is the development of a microscope lens that enables 3D imaging at Ohio State University.

The institution says it is the first single, stationary lens that is capable of creating 3D images on its own.