High Quantum Efficiency Confocal Microscope Detector for Viewing Live Cells

用共聚焦显微镜进行三维成像可能是可以应用于活细胞的最先进的成像方法。随着设备变得越来越复杂，活细胞的共聚焦显微镜的应用已经变得越来越普遍和富有成效。 不幸的是，这样的研究通常需要将荧光染料引入细胞中，并且当用共聚焦显微镜的激光束照射这些荧光染料时，染料分子通常以损伤活细胞的方式降解。虽然在观察活细胞时已经有很多关于这个问题的文章，但解决方案归结为尽可能利用染料发出的荧光光子。光子效率有两个方面：确保尽可能多的光子在短时间内到达探测器，并确保实际检测到这样做的光子。 最近，已经设计了一种硅光电探测器（有几种不同的配方），其在收集和探测光子方面以高效率工作。Pawley博士建议修改这些探测器用于共聚焦显微镜，并在现实条件下测试其性能，以确定最佳设计和适应方法。最后的适应应该是细胞三维可视化技术的一个信号进步。

Three-dimensional imaging with a confocal microscope is probably the most advanced imaging method that can be applied to living cells. As equipment becomes ever more sophisticated, the application of confocal microscopy of living cells has become increasingly common and productive. Unfortunately, such studies usually require the introduction of fluorescent dyes into the cell and when these are illuminated with the laser beam of the confocal microscope, the dye molecules are often degraded in a manner that injures the living cell. Though much has been written about this problem when viewing living cells, the solution comes down to making the best possible use of the fluorescent light photons emitted by the dye. Photon efficiency has two aspects: ensuring that as many photons as possible reach the detector in a short period of time and making sure that those that do so are actually detected. Recently a silicon photodetector has been designed (available in several different formulations) which operates at high efficiency in collecting and detecting photons. Dr. Pawley proposes to modify these detectors for use in a confocal microscope and test their performance under realistic conditions to determine the optimum design and method of adaptation. The final adaptation should be a signal advance in the technique of three-dimensional visualization of cells.