Extremely high-Throughput quantitative phase imaging of live-cells with a multi-camera array microscope
Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) of live-cells delivers improved label-free contrast and enhanced cell phenotype analysis; however, live-cell QPI is difficult for many biologists to implement due to the complexity and limited throughput of current QPI based approaches. Here, we describe a multi-camera array microscope (MCAM) that enables rapid QPI and fluorescence z-stack capture of many non-coplanar, 3D specimens, which facilitates high-Throughput live-cell imaging and enhanced phenotyping in standard multiwell plates. We model the optical transfer function of each micro-camera and use through-focus intensity images with differential phase contrast (DPC)-inspired illumination to reconstruct 3D refractive index distributions across 48 wells simultaneously.
