Achieving Optical Sectioning for Whole Slide Imaging

Whole slide imaging (WSI) is increasingly important for research as it achieves the acquisition of large scan areas at high resolution within seconds. Based on widefield microscopy, the fluorescent WSI provides fast scanning but has limitations, as thick samples generate out-of-focus blur. Camera-based optical sectioning technology implemented into whole slide scanners overcomes this limitation, providing on-the-fly optical sectioning. This technology has minimal impact on scan time and generates crisp and highly contrasted images, allowing a clear identification of cellular structures even in the depth of the sample.

Based on HiLo microscopy, in which both high and low frequency components are captured, an optical sectioning device enables the imaging of thick samples well beyond the limit of a regular widefield microscope. This capability opens whole slide imaging to new dimensions, allowing more robust exploration of the z axes of samples.

About the presenter
Maria Ada Prusicki, Ph.D., received her doctorate in biology from the University of Hamburg in 2019. During her studies she focused on live cell imaging techniques to follow plant cell divisions. After a postdoctoral experience, where she deepened her knowledge in microscopy techniques, she joined Evident Technology Center Europe in Münster, Germany as application specialist in 2022. Here she provides application and marketing support to customers worldwide.