Harvard Apparatus has developed an infrared (IR) camera that enables the clear visualisation of histological, physiological, morphological and metabolic phenomena down to the cellular level.
The IRCI camera is designed to allow the user to visualise events that are difficult to see in the visible light spectrum, such as physiological and metabolic changes in live tissue, levels of hydration and vascularisation in tissue and organs, the contrast of physical features with no or poor visible contrast, the application of therapeutic agents through injection or aerosol and perfusion paths in organs and microfluidic chips.
The new technology permits quantitative assessment and the viewing of biological events that, until now, have required subjective observations.
Used like a digital camera, the IRCI has been used as a high-sensitivity, low-cost method in many applications where visible examination reveals little information.
This is achieved by the detection of IR emission, which is influenced in a predictable way by surface composition, texture, chemical make-up, thickness, tonicity and temperature.
The emissions are interpreted as distinct colour patterns on the reported image, clearly identifying both physical and physiological features that cannot be seen with the naked eye or with visible spectrum imaging.
As the IRCI utilises natural ambient IR emission energies radiated by any object, it is particularly well suited to sensitive physiological and regenerative medicine preparations where cells and tissue may be damaged by exposure to contrast agents or certain light frequencies.
