A detailed knowledge of optical properties of tissue is important for the development of non-invasive monitoring systems for clinical practice. However, tissue optical properties are rarely known in the mid-infrared wavelength range. Goniometry offers an opportunity to determine in particular the scattering properties of tissue. Here, a custom-built setup is presented for goniometric measurements in the mid-infrared based on quantum cascade lasers.
Infrared microscopy can be performed to observe dynamic processes on a microscopic scale. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy-based microscopes are bound to limitations regarding time resolution, which hampers their potential for imaging fast moving systems. In this manuscript we present a quantum cascade laser-based infrared microscope which overcomes these limitations and readily achieves standard video frame rates. The capabilities of our setup are demonstrated by observing dynamical processes at their specific time scales: fermentation, slow moving Amoeba Proteus and fast moving Caenorhabditis elegans. Mid-infrared sampling rates between 30 min and 20 ms are demonstrated.
The spectroscopy of analyte-specific molecular vibrations in tissue thin sections has opened up a path toward histopathology without the need for tissue staining. However, biomedical vibrational imaging has not yet advanced from academic research to routine histopathology due to long acquisition times for the microscopic hyperspectral images and/or cost and availability of the necessary equipment. Here we show that the combination of a fast-tuning quantum cascade laser with a microbolometer array detector allows for a rapid image acquisition and bares the potential for substantial cost reduction. A 3.1×2.8 mm2 unstained thin section of mouse jejunum has been imaged in the 9.2 to 9.7 μm wavelength range (spectral resolution ∼1 cm−1) within 5 min with diffraction limited spatial resolution. The comparison of this hyperspectral imaging approach with standard Fourier transform infrared imaging or mapping of the identical sample shows a reduction in acquisition time per wavenumber interval and image area by more than one or three orders of magnitude, respectively.
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