Improved microscopy technique sees living cells with seven times more sensitivity

Amazing stuff! It is absolutely stunning that the resolution/sensitivity boundaries of light based microscopy can be pushed even further!

"... This latest work unveils ADRIFT-QPI – adaptive dynamic range shift quantitative phase imaging – a technique that promises to push the boundaries of sensitivity further than was previously thought possible. ...

ADRIFT-QPI uses two steps to capture both the major features and small details of the cell in one image. The first step employs a phase imaging method that’s already widely used ...

The key development lies in the second step. Another, brighter, sheet of light is used that mirrors the features of the cell captured in the first step. ... By using a much brighter light source and filtering out all of the major features already detected, this second image captures the fine details that previously would have been drowned out in the first step. Combining these two steps ensures that a much wider range of cellular features can be captured in a single image. ..."

"... Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) with its high-contrast images of optical phase delay (OPD) maps is often used for label-free single-cell analysis. ...
we propose and demonstrate supersensitive QPI with an expanded dynamic range. ... As a proof-of-concept demonstration, we show dynamic range expansion (sensitivity improvement) of QPI by a factor of 6.6 and its utility in improving the sensitivity of mid-infrared photothermal QPI. ..."

Improved microscopy technique sees living cells with seven times more sensitivity – Physics World

Here is the underlying research paper:

Adaptive dynamic range shift (ADRIFT) quantitative phase imaging (open access)