time-lapse microscopy
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Time-lapse microscopy is
time-lapse photography Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus ...
applied to microscopy. Microscope image sequences are recorded and then viewed at a greater speed to give an accelerated view of the microscopic process. Before the introduction of the
video tape recorder A video tape recorder (VTR) is a tape recorder designed to record and playback video and audio material from magnetic tape. The early VTRs were open-reel devices that record on individual reels of 2-inch-wide (5.08 cm) tape. They were u ...
in the 1960s, time-lapse microscopy recordings were made on photographic film. During this period, time-lapse microscopy was referred to as microcinematography. With the increasing use of video recorders, the term time-lapse video microscopy was gradually adopted. Today, the term video is increasingly dropped, reflecting that a
digital still camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices ...
is used to record the individual image frames, instead of a video recorder.


Applications

Time-lapse microscopy can be used to observe any microscopic object over time. However, its main use is within cell biology to observe artificially cultured cells. Depending on the cell culture, different microscopy techniques can be applied to enhance characteristics of the cells as most cells are transparent. To enhance observations further, cells have therefore traditionally been stained before observation. Unfortunately, the staining process kills the cells. The development of less destructive staining methods and methods to observe unstained cells has led to that cell biologists increasingly observe living cells. This is known as
live cell imaging Live-cell imaging is the study of living cells using time-lapse microscopy. It is used by scientists to obtain a better understanding of biological function through the study of cellular dynamics. Live-cell imaging was pioneered in the first de ...
. A few tools have been developed to identify and analyze single cells during live cell imaging. Time-lapse microscopy is the method that extends live cell imaging from a single observation in time to the observation of cellular dynamics over long periods of time. Time-lapse microscopy is primarily used in research, but is clinically used in
IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...
clinics as studies has proven it to increase pregnancy rates, lower abortion rates and predict
aneuploidy Aneuploidy is the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell, for example a human cell having 45 or 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46. It does not include a difference of one or more complete sets of chromosomes. A cell with any ...
Modern approaches are further extending time-lapse microscopy observations beyond making movies of cellular dynamics. Traditionally, cells have been observed in a microscope and measured in a
cytometer Flow cytometry (FC) is a technique used to detect and measure physical and chemical characteristics of a population of cells or particles. In this process, a sample containing cells or particles is suspended in a fluid and injected into the flow ...
. Increasingly this boundary is blurred as cytometric techniques are being integrated with imaging techniques for monitoring and measuring dynamic activities of cells and subcellular structures.


History

'' The Cheese Mites'' by Martin Duncan from 1903 is one of the earliest microcinematographic films. However, the early development of scientific microcinematography took place in Paris. The first reported time-lapse microscope was assembled in the late 1890s at the Marey Institute, founded by the pioneer of chronophotography,
Étienne-Jules Marey Étienne-Jules Marey (; 5 March 1830, Beaune, Côte-d'Or – 15 May 1904, Paris) was a French scientist, physiologist and chronophotographer. His work was significant in the development of cardiology, physical instrumentation, aviation, cinema ...
. It was, however,
Jean Comandon Jean Comandon (3 August 1877 – 30 October 1970) was a French microbiologist and filmmaker. He was one of the leading figures in the development of Time-lapse microscopy, microcinematography in Paris and its use in science research and education. ...
who made the first significant scientific contributions in around 1910. Comandon was a trained microbiologist specializing in syphilis research. Inspired by Victor Henri's microcinematic work on
Brownian motion Brownian motion, or pedesis (from grc, πήδησις "leaping"), is the random motion of particles suspended in a medium (a liquid or a gas). This pattern of motion typically consists of random fluctuations in a particle's position insi ...
, he used the newly invented
ultramicroscope An ultramicroscope is a microscope with a system that lights the object in a way that allows viewing of tiny particles via light scattering, and not light reflection or absorption. When the diameter of a particle is below or near the wavelength o ...
to study the movements of the syphilis bacteria. At the time, the ultramicroscope was the only microscope in which the thin spiral shaped bacteria was visible. Using an enormous cinema camera bolted to the fragile microscope, he demonstrated visually that the movement of the disease-causing bacteria is uniquely different from the non-disease-causing form. Comandon's films proved instrumental in teaching doctors how to distinguish the two forms. Comandon's extensive pioneering work inspired others to adopt microcinematography. Heniz Rosenberger builds a microcinematograph in the mid 1920s. In collerboration with
Alexis Carrel Alexis Carrel (; 28 June 1873 – 5 November 1944) was a French surgeon and biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for pioneering vascular suturing techniques. He invented the first perfusion pump with Charl ...
, they used the device to further develop Carrel's cell culturing techniques. Similar work was conducted by Warren Lewis. During World War II, Carl Zeiss AG released the first
phase-contrast microscope __NOTOC__ Phase-contrast microscopy (PCM) is an optical microscopy technique that converts phase shifts in light passing through a transparent specimen to brightness changes in the image. Phase shifts themselves are invisible, but become visible ...
on the market. With this new microscope, cellular details could for the first time be observed without using lethal stains. By setting up some of the first time-lapse experiments with chicken
fibroblasts A fibroblast is a type of biological cell that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, produces the structural framework ( stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing. Fibroblasts are the most common cells ...
and a phase-contrast microscope,
Michael Abercrombie Michael Abercrombie FRS (14 August 1912 – 28 May 1979) was a British cell biologist and embryologist. He was one of four children of the poet Lascelles Abercrombie. Early life Michael was born at Ryton near Dymock in Gloucestershire on 14 A ...
described the basis of our current understanding of
cell migration Cell migration is a central process in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Tissue formation during embryonic development, wound healing and immune responses all require the orchestrated movement of cells in particular dire ...
in 1953. With the broad introduction of the
digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices ...
at the beginning of this century, time-lapse microscopy has been made dramatically more accessible and is currently experiencing an unrepresented raise in scientific publications.


See also

*
Live cell imaging Live-cell imaging is the study of living cells using time-lapse microscopy. It is used by scientists to obtain a better understanding of biological function through the study of cellular dynamics. Live-cell imaging was pioneered in the first de ...
*
Cytometry Cytometry is the measurement of number and characteristics of cells. Variables that can be measured by cytometric methods include cell size, cell count, cell morphology (shape and structure), cell cycle phase, DNA content, and the existence o ...
*
Time-lapse photography Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus ...
*
Live single-cell imaging In systems biology, live single-cell imaging is a live cell imaging technique that combines traditional live cell imaging and time-lapse microscopy techniques with automated cell tracking and feature extraction, drawing many techniques from high-c ...


References


External links


Introduction to Live-Cell Imaging Techniques
by Florida State University


Historic time-lapse microscopy films

* 1903 &mdash
Cheese Mites
by Martin Duncan * 1909 &mdash
Syphilis spirochaeta pallida
by Jean Comandon * 1939 &mdash
Normal and abnormal white blood cells in tissue cultures
by Warren Lewis * 1943 &mdash
The early cell division stage of grasshopper sperm cells shown using phase contrast time-lapse microscopy
by Kurt Michel, Carl Zeiss AG {{Optical microscopy Microscopy Cell imaging Microbiology techniques Laboratory techniques Laboratory equipment Biological techniques and tools Articles containing video clips