A confocal microscope is a specialized optical microscope that produces sharper, higher-resolution images of a specimen, particularly of three-dimensional structures, than a conventional light microscope by using a pinhole aperture to block out-of-focus light from above and below the focal plane, so that only light from a single thin optical section of the sample reaches the detector, allowing a series of these sections to be combined into a detailed three-dimensional image. The confocal principle was first patented by the American scientist Marvin Minsky in 1957, but practical confocal microscopy only became widespread from the 1980s onward, once the development of the laser scanning confocal microscope, combined with sufficient computing power to process the resulting images, made the technique fast and reliable enough for routine laboratory use. Confocal microscopy is now widely used in cell biology, neuroscience and developmental biology, particularly for imaging fluorescently labeled structures within living or fixed cells and tissues in far greater optical detail than earlier wide-field fluorescence microscopy allowed.
Facts
Invented YearSourced to the subject's own account MeasuresSourced to the subject's own accountOptical resolution and contrast of a micrograph, achieved by using a pinhole to block out-of-focus light so images can be captured at defined depths. 1 Operating PrincipleSourced to the subject's own accountMultiple two-dimensional images captured at different depths in a sample are reconstructed into three-dimensional structure, a process called optical sectioning. 1 ResolutionSourced to the subject's own accountOptical resolution, especially along the sample-depth axis, is markedly better than wide-field microscopy because only fluorescence near the focal plane is detected. 1 Operating RangeSourced to the subject's own accountTypical working distances range from hundreds of micrometres to several millimeters, depending on the optical design. 1 Classification
Instrument ClassSourced to the subject's own account Connections
Invented By
Minsky patented the confocal scanning microscope principle in 1957 (filed 1955), better known for his later work in artificial intelligence.
Used In
Confocal microscopy produces optical sections of fluorescently labeled cells and tissues, a standard imaging technique of molecular and cell biology.
Sources
1. Confocal Microscopy (Wikipedia)
WikipediaThe beginnings: 1940-1957 section
The first confocal scanning microscope was built by Marvin Minsky in 1955 and a patent was filed in 1957.
Lead section, opening sentence
Confocal microscopy is an optical imaging technique for increasing optical resolution and contrast of a micrograph by means of using a spatial pinhole to block out-of-focus light in image formation.
Lead section
Capturing multiple two-dimensional images at different depths in a sample enables the reconstruction of three-dimensional structures (a process known as optical sectioning) within an object.
Basic concept section
As only light produced by fluorescence very close to the focal plane can be detected, the image's optical resolution, particularly in the sample depth direction, is much better than that of wide-field microscopes.
Resolution enhancement section
It varies with the system optical design, but working distances from hundreds of micrometres to several millimeters are typical.
Lede, instrument class
A confocal microscope is a specialized optical microscope that produces sharper, higher-resolution images of a specimen, particularly of three-dimensional structures, than a conventional light microscope by using a pinhole aperture to block out-of-focus light from above and below the focal plane, so that only light from a single thin optical section of the sample reaches the detector, allowing a series of these sections to be combined into a detailed three-dimensional image.
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