ABSTRACT
Biomedical imaging has been used to understand biological processes, diagnose diseases, and even monitor disease treatment. Various biomedical imaging techniques and related instruments have been developed to meet the increasing needs in biological and clinical research: light microscopy, fluorescence imaging, confocal imaging, optical coherence tomography, endoscopy, and many others. This chapter explores only two fundamental biomedical instruments: microscopes and endoscopes.
Microscopes are used to study biological processes and diagnose diseases at the cellular level. Due to the wave nature of light, the resolution of a microscope is limited by diffraction. Numerous techniques have been developed to probe smaller features using microscopes. This chapter explores numerous methods used in microscopy and super-resolution microscopy. Super-resolution microscopy has the ability to resolve objects well below the diffraction limit.
Endoscopes are instruments that allow for live imaging of processes inside the human or animal body. The goal of endoscopy is to provide high-quality imaging in an extremely compact system to minimize the invasiveness of the procedure. Endoscopes are now common tools used in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, and surgery.
