Miniaturized microscope for non-invasive imaging of leukocyte-endothelial interactions in human microcirculation

We present a miniature oblique back-illumination microscope (mOBM) for imaging the microcirculation of human oral mucosa, enabling real-time, label-free phase contrast imaging of leukocyte rolling and adhesion, the initial steps in leukocyte recruitment that is a hallmark of inflammation. Imaging cell motion can provide new diagnostic information (time course of disease progression, response to therapy, etc.) that is not available using traditional static diagnostic parameters such as cell number and morphology.