Table 1.

Resolution +: >10⁻² mm; ++: 10⁻² ≈ 10⁻³ mm; +++: 10⁻³ ≈ 10⁻⁴ mm; ++++: 10⁻⁴ ≈ 10⁻⁵ mm; +++++: 10⁻⁵ ≈ 10⁻⁶ mm. Penetration +: <10⁻² mm; ++: 10⁻² ≈ 10⁻¹ mm; +++: 10⁻¹ ≈ 10° mm; ++++: 10° ≈ 10¹ mm; +++++: >10¹ mm. Speed n/a: fix/frozen; ++: slow; +++: fast

Imaging modality	Resolution	Penetration Depth	Acquisition Speed	Applications	References
positron emission tomography	+	+++++	+++	in vivo imaging	[421 ]
single photon emission computed tomography	+	+++++	++	in vivo imaging	[422]
fluorescence molecular tomography	+	+++++	++	in vivo imaging	[423]
sculpted light	+	+++	+++	in vivo imaging	[424,425]
ultrasound imaging	+	+++++	+++	in vivo imaging	[426,427]
computed tomography	++	+++++	+++	in vivo imaging	[428]
magnetic resonance imaging	++	+++++	++	in vivo imaging	[429]
ultrasound lens imaging	++	++	+++	in vivo imaging	[430]
optical coherence tomography	++	+	++	in vivo imaging	[431]
photoacoustic imaging	++	++++	+++	in vivo imaging	[432,433]
remote axial scanning	++	++	+++	in vivo imaging	[434]
epifluorescence	+++	+	+++	in vivo imaging	[435]
tissue clearing microscopy	+++	++++	n/a	ex vivo imaging	[124,436,437]
multiphoton microscopy	+++	+++	++	in vivo imaging	[438]
confocal laser scanning	+++	++	++	in vivo imaging	[435]
optical microscopy (serial sectioning)	+++	+++++	n/a	ex vivo imaging	[439]
light sheet	+++	++	++	in vivo imaging	[440]
raman imaging	++++	++	++	in vivo imaging	[441]
expansion microscopy	++++	++++	n/a	ex vivo imaging	[442,443]
lattice light sheet	++++	++	++	in vivo imaging	[444]
super resolution microscopy	++++	+	++	in vivo imaging	[445,446]
electron microscopy (serial sectioning)	+++++	+++++	n/a	ex vivo imaging	[447,448]

• Note: Many techniques can apply across a range of resolutions, penetrations, and speeds. Annotation here captures representative properties.