Abstract

Two-photon microscopy is a powerful technique that allows three- dimensional imaging of tissue structures with sub-micron resolution. Equally important, two-photon microscopy uses excitation light in the near infrared spectral range, where tissue absorption and scattering is minimal. Two-photon excitation allows non-invasive tissue imaging down to a depth of a few hundreds of micrometers for typical tissues. The use of two-photon excitation for non-invasive biopsy has been suggested but remain unrealized. The progress of two-photon microscopy for clinical tissue biopsy will depend on a number of key technological advances such as the video rate imaging of 3-D tissue structures and the availability of spectral resolution to determine tissue metabolic states and biochemical components.

© 2000 Optical Society of America