Heart contains a variety of neurons known to influence cardiac functions. Little is known about the neurochemistry of these neurons. In this study, neurochemistry of intra cardiac neurons of the intrinsic cardiac ganglia was investigated. The technique used allows studying the morphology of the ganglionated nerve plexus found within the atria and great cardiac vessels as well as of individual n...

Laser scanning confocal microscopy has become an invaluable tool for a wide range of investigations in the biological and medical sciences for imaging thin optical sections in living and fixed specimens ranging in thickness up to 100 micrometers. Modern instruments are equipped with 3-5 laser systems controlled by high-speed acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs), which allow very precise regula...

The use of a confocal detection scheme in a dual-beam thermal-lens microscope is presented. The scheme allows the measurement of absorption factors down to 1.2 x 10(-7) in a 0.35-microm3 volume by use of a heating laser power of 100 mW incident upon the sample. Results are presented that prove that a 450-nm axial resolution is possible when a 1.2 water immersion objective lens with a N.A. of 1....

Many technological advancements of the past decade have contributed to improvements in the photon efficiency of the confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). The resolution of images from the new generation of CLSMs is approaching that achieved by the microscope itself because of continued development in digital imaging methods, laser technology and the availability of brighter and more photos...

A new type of confocal microscope is described which makes use of intensity correlations between spatially correlated beams of light. It is shown that this apparatus leads to significantly improved transverse resolution.

We describe the three-dimensional (3-D) image formation and data acquisition in a stage scanning 4Pi confocal fluorescence microscope with the use of two-photon excitation. The 3-D point-spread functions of the 4Pi confocal and regular confocal microscope are measured and compared. Particular emphasis is given to the data acquisition procedure. 4Pi confocal microscopy results in a point-spread ...

PURPOSE Intraoperative optical biopsy technologies may aid in the identification of important anatomical landmarks and improve surgical outcomes of robotic assisted radical prostatectomy. We evaluate the feasibility of confocal laser endomicroscopy during robotic assisted radical prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 21 patients with biopsy proven prostate cancer scheduled for robot...

purpose: to compare keratocyte density between normal and keratoconic corneas in non-contact lens wearers. methods: confocal scanning was performed on 39 corneas of 26 patients with keratoconus and 28 corneas of 14 normal control subjects. none of the cases were contact lens wearer. all individuals underwent ophthalmic examination and computed topography in addition to confocal microscopy. main...

We show the point-spread function of a confocal microscope with an increased detection aperture. The increase in aperture is accomplished by coherent collection of the light from the specimen with two opposing objective lenses, i.e., type-B 4Pi confocal microscopy. We demonstrate experimentally its feasibility for detecting scattered or fluorescently emitted light. The 4Pi confocal point-spread...

purpose: to evaluate corneal endothelial cells of donors who died from aluminum phosphide intoxication. methods: endothelial cell count and quality of eight corneas from four donors with aluminum phosphide intoxication were evaluated by slit lamp biomicroscopy and specular microscopy at the eye bank of i.r. iran. confocal scan examination was carried out only in one of the recipients. results: ...