An idea whose time has come
For over a century, research microscopists have sought a means to produce three-dimensional views of the materials they studied. However, tissue-based microscopy relies on histologic technique, an assembly line manufacturing process dedicated to the fabrication of one product, the glass microscope slide. This dependence seriously limits the quantity and quality of data that can be obtained from materials under examination.

A dramatic break with convention
Microscience Group Inc.'s technology realigns the traditional microscopy paradigm by eliminating the requirement to fabricate a glass slide before producing an image, thereby disposing of the inefficient labor component of tissue-based microscopy. This conceptual breakthrough enables histopathology to progress to a new level, where the processing of information, rather than the manufacture of a product becomes the focus of attention.

How it works
The advantages of the DVI Microimager flow from a central, unique feature: while conventional histopathology relies on the creation of glass slides on which are mounted thin tissue sections cut from a tissue block, the DVI Microimager instead captures high-resolution virtual sections directly from the block's surface. This process, also called surface imaging microscopy, permits the collection of a much greater amount of information from each sample by automating the collection of large numbers of serial sections.

In essence, the DVI Microimager images a tissue section before it is cut from a sample, rather than after, eliminating the need to produce histologic sections. This breakthrough makes possible automated serial sectioning of entire samples, and the production of unprecedented three-dimensional digital representations.

A flood of new information
Unlike conventional histopathologic technique, which examines a few cuts taken more or less at random through a sample, the DVI Microimager concept gives microscopists access to thousands of precisely registered, high fidelity serial sections, comprising an accurate digital replica of the tissue. The user has full control over the selection of two-dimensional images from this three-dimensional data. In addition, this revolutionary technology can yield three-dimensional digital reproductions of tissue architecture in unprecedented detail, and can do so on far larger volumes of tissue than can be addressed by other microscopy methods.

At present, the DVI Microimager will image tissue at the following resolutions and corresponding sample sizes.

The potential for a dramatic increase in the amount of information extracted from materials gives the Microscience Group Inc.'s DVI Microimager a powerful advantage over standard techniques.