TARGETED DUAL-AXES CONFOCAL IMAGING APPARATUS WITH VERTICAL SCANNING CAPABILITIES

摘要

An optical device is described that may be used as a microscope system for realtime, three-dimensional optical imaging. The device includes a miniature, fiber optic, intravital probe microscope that uses a dual-axes confocal architecture to allow for vertical scanning perpendicular to a surface of the sample (e.g., a tissue surface). The optical device can use off-axis illumination and collection of light to achieve sub-cellular resolution with deep tissue penetration. The optical device may be used as part of an integrated molecular imaging strategy using fluorescence-labeled peptides to detect cell surface targets that are up-regulated by the epithelium and/or endothelium of colon and breast tumors in small animal models of cancer.