ABSTRACT
The term "cytometry" defines the quantitative image analysis of cells and tissues with the help of a computerized system. Using conventional microscopy, the specimens (smears, imprints, and tissue sections) are observed in two-dimensional (2-D) projection. It is proposed that the name "Confocal Cytometry" be given to the quantitative analysis of three-dimensional (3-D) images of cells and tissues, obtained by confocal microscopy.L2
Confocal microscopy was invented in 1955 by Marvin Minsky,3•4 who was to become famous in another domain - artificial intelligence. Interestingly, his motivation, far from being unrelated to the latter when building his confocal microscope, arose from a superbly quixotic search for a way to study the 3-D arrangement of nerve cells in the brain. Minsky may therefore be considered the father of confocal cytometry, although many years would pass before his dream of obtaining 3-D microscopical images of the brain would actually become progressively true.
