Imaging and evaluating live tissues at the microscopic level

Abstract

There are many ways in which images can be acquired, including the transmission, reflection, and emission of light, radiation, sound, magnetism, heat and other sources of energy. Some methods are more or less suitable for imaging living tissues and cells. Images, while informative and useful for generating hypotheses, may be quantified to actually test hypotheses. Various methods of image quantification are discussed, including pixel counting and stereology. Multimodal imaging, and multidimensional combinations of images with intensity information in the domains of genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics pave the way to a fuller understanding of biology and medicine. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.