Schematic illustration showing the two optical systems that are being compared. (a) shows the large area epi-confocal arrangement, and (b) shows the arrangement for orthogonal-line-confocal excitation. OBJ = Microscope objective, DBS = Dichroic beam splitter, PH = Pinhole, BPF = Band pass filter, AL = Aspheric lens, APD = Avalanche photo diode.