An integrated system to monitor complex tissues at single-cell resolution

描述(申请人提供)：我们最近开发了一个原型系统，用于长期监测复杂组织中的单细胞行为。我们的系统来自于显微镜和计算细胞跟踪领域的两项领先技术的协同集成和优化：倒置选择平面照明显微镜(ISPIM)和StarryNite软件包。与正在使用的标准技术相比，我们在几乎所有方面都取得了数量级的改进，尤其是成像速度、光毒性降低、细胞跟踪的准确性以及对计算能力的更低要求，所有这些都以可与之媲美或更好的图像质量实现了降低成本。我们的系统已经应用于多个模式生物以及细胞培养，展示了它的多功能性。我们的目标是将该系统带到成熟的研究界手中，作为在复杂、分化的细胞群体中进行单细胞研究的强大而通用的工具。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We have recently developed a prototype system for long-term monitoring of single-cell behaviors in complex tissues. Our system comes from the synergistic integration and optimization of two leading technologies in microscopy and computational cell tracking: the inverted selective plane illumination microscope (iSPIM) and the StarryNite software package. We have demonstrated order-of-magnitude improvements on virtually all fronts compared to the standard technologies in use, notably imaging speed, reduction of phototoxicity, accuracy of cell tracking, and lower demand for computing power, all achieved at a reduced cost with comparable or better image quality. Our system has been applied to multiple model organisms as well as cell culture, demonstrating its versatility. We aim to bring the system to maturity and into the hands of the research community as a powerful and versatile tool for single-cell studies in complex, differentiating cell populations.