Biomedical three-dimensional holographic microimaging at visible, ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths.

A new imaging technology is under advanced development that has several key advantages over conventional forms of microimaging performed with standard light microscopes, confocal light microscopes, and electron microscopes. The image created by this microscope possesses several unique features: It is intrinsically three-dimensional; it can be formed with very high contrast, a characteristic of the phase-sensitive nature of the recording; the information contained in the image is obtained in a single exposure of the specimen, a feature that eliminates the accumulation of damage to living systems that can occur with techniques utilizing multiple exposures; the method of image construction is fundamentally free from aberration (distortion), thereby obviating the need to employ complex procedures for correction; the exact focal plane of any optical section is digitally determined through computation and is not based on any mechanical adjustments; and the principles of operation, including the computational processes and modalities of image presentation, are uniform over the full range of spectral coverage spanning from the visible (approximately 500 nm) to the X-ray (approximately 0.3 nm) regions. The application of this new technology is expected to open new cost-effective avenues to the understanding, prevention and treatment of broad areas of human disease.