Smart acquisition and data reduction for light-sheet microscopy of the cell cycle

从超分辨率到高速成像，光学显微镜的新发展使以前不可能进行的实验成为可能。一种最先进的显微镜，光片显微镜，通过实现非常高速的三维成像，同时向样品投射的激光大大减少，正在给细胞生物学带来革命性的变化。其结果是，与传统的基于激光的显微镜相比，显微镜要温和得多，因此可以对细胞进行更长时间的观察，而不会受到光毒性损害。它的工作原理是将一个光平面--光片--聚焦到样品上，然后使用第二个透镜来检测荧光分子发出的光。由于高速的图像捕获速度和极大的安全成像潜力，光片显微镜将产生真正的大数据，每次实验可产生数TB的数据。该项目旨在开发新的“智能”软件，使光片显微镜能够分析正在成像的细胞样本，并独立做出调整成像方案的决定。例如，显微镜只能聚焦于细胞，以避免浪费背景空间，然后在这些细胞中只选择有丝分裂的细胞--细胞分裂的过程。然后，将对获取的数据进行粒子运动的量化分析，并进行荧光测量，使研究人员能够立即获得结果，同时还将自动进行数据缩减，以减轻大数据负担。

New developments in light microscopy are making possible previously impossible experiments, from super-resolution to high-speed imaging. One type of state-of-the-art microscope, the light-sheet microscope, is revolutionising cell biology by enabling very high speed three-dimensional imaging while projecting substantially less laser light into the sample. The result is a far gentler microscope than traditional laser-based microscopes and as a result cells can be observed for far longer without suffering phototoxic damage. It works by focusing a plane of light - a light sheet - onto the sample and then using a second lens to detect the emitted light from fluorescent molecules. Due to the high-speed image capture rate and the vastly lengthened safe imaging potential, light-sheet microscopes are set to produce truly "big data" with multiple terabytes per experiment.This project aims to develop new "smart" software to enable light-sheet microscopes to analyse the samples of cells being imaging and independently make decisions to adjust the imaging protocol. For example, the microscope will be able to focus down on cells only to avoid wasting space on the background and then among those cells select only those in mitosis - the process of cell division. The acquired data will then be quantitatively analysed for the motion of particles and to take fluorescence measurements to allow researchers immediate access to results while also automatically being subjected to data reduction to reduce the big data burden.