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

描述（由申请人提供）：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。我们的系统来自显微镜和计算细胞跟踪领域两项领先技术的协同集成和优化：倒置选择性平面照明显微镜（iSPIM）和StarryNite软件包。与使用中的标准技术相比，我们已经证明了几乎所有方面的数量级改进，特别是成像速度，减少光毒性，细胞跟踪的准确性以及对计算能力的更低需求，所有这些都是以更低的成本实现的，具有相当或更好的图像质量。我们的系统已被应用于多种模式生物以及细胞培养，证明了其多功能性。我们的目标是使该系统成熟并成为研究界的一个强大而多功能的工具，用于复杂的分化细胞群中的单细胞研究。

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.