Development of a 3-Dimensional Internal Structure Microscope (3D-ISM) for the Observation to Biological Organisms.

Abstract We developed a new type 3-Dimensional Internal Structure Microscope (3D-ISM) for the observation of internal structures of samples. The internal structure of a sample is obtained by cutting it into thin slices and observing the cutting side continuously while cutting. The position of the camera, as well as the sample position are fixed. Therefore there is no shift between the sections, and this system can obtain a true color image of the sample, which is a high resolution and a high-quality three-dimensional image compared with X-ray CT and MRI. After repeatedly slicing a sample, the digital image data from the sectional views is transferred to a computer, where 3-dimensional images of the internal structure of the sample are reconstructed. Using this system we analyzed many biological organisms. In this paper, a mouse specimen has been cut and the 3-dimensional images are shown. This article presents the outline of the device and the principle of the observation. FIG.l shows a corresponding block diagram and Fig. 2 a schematic view of the 3D-ISM.