Ultrafast Camera Opens the Door to an Array of Medical ApplicationsUltrafast Camera Opens the Door to an Array of Medical Applications

October 20, 2009

2 Min Read
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A 32 x 32 single-photon avalanche diode array, a detector used in Megaframe's camera, has been fabricated using 0.8-µm CMOS technology.

An ultrafast high-resolution video camera developed as part of the EU-funded Megaframe project has paved the way for a range of medical applications. Capable of extremely rapid image capture, the 1024-pixel photon-resolution CMOS camera can detect a single photon at a million times a second, enabling it to record molecular processes in unprecedented detail. "We need this sort of detail because biomedical scientists are studying processes at the intracellular and molecular levels," explains Edoardo Charbon, coordinator of Megaframe.Scientists use techniques such as fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to see what is happening in biomedical processes. When a fluorescent material is introduced to the area of interest, its spectrum of emission and rate of decay can indicate the presence of particular molecules in the body. For example, a fluorophore known as Oregon Green Bapta (OGB-1) decays at a rate proportionate to the presence of calcium, which is an important indicator of neuron activity.It is possible to go inside neurons and look at their ion channels, Charbon remarks. "These are the channels that allow neurons to communicate with other neurons. And you can basically see the amount of calcium that is present. You can probe optically how neurons communicate with other neurons just by looking at the concentrations of calcium in real time."The process of determining calcium concentrations can be recorded in ultrafine detail thanks to single-photon detectors such as those used in the Megaframe camera. "Biomedical scientists could in principle use this microscopic information about calcium to learn about macroscopic conditions like Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's, or epilepsy," Charbon says.A promising technique is the combination of fluorescence imaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). "In MRI you need very strong magnetic fields in the cavity where you are performing the imaging, up to 10 Tesla, but conventional fluorescence technology won't work in these conditions," says Charbon. In contrast, Megaframe's photo detector, the single-photon avalanche diode, has been tested successfully in fields up to 9.4 Tesla."Thus, it can be envisaged to have a system where fluorescence-enhanced imaging and functional MRI may be used simultaneously," Charbon states. "This is very useful in a number of biomedical applications, where one wants to monitor the correlation between the presence of certain molecules in organs, such as the brain, and their function."

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