Table 1. Representative slide-free imaging modalities for histology.
| Technological platform | UV microscopy (MUSE) | Light-sheet microscopy-1 | Dual-modal multiphoton microscopy | Stimulated Raman microscopy | Photoacoustic microscopy | Optical coherence tomography | Light-sheet microscopy-2 | Tetra-modal multiphoton microscopy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reference | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10 | This study |
| Nature | virtual H&E histology | virtual H&E histology | virtual H&E histology | virtual H&E histology | virtual H&E histology | virtual H&E histology | immuno-histochemistry | virtual histochemistry |
| Tissue sample | fresh, formalin-fixed | fresh, formalin-fixed | fresh, formalin-fixed | fresh | fresh | fresh | paraffin-embedded | fresh |
| Tissue treatment | no | occasional clearing | no | no | no | no | clearing required | no |
| Labeling | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | yes | no |
| Imagine contrast | fluorescence | fluorescence | Fluorescence,SHG | molecular vibration | absorption | scattering | fluorescence | Fluorescence,SHG,THG |
| Dimension of imaging | 2.5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| # of contrasts in one scan | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| # of contrasts in one image | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Nucleus contrast generation | Hoechst,DAPI | DRAQ5,acridine orange | acridine orange | differentiated vibration strength | nuclear UV absorption | unclear | YO-PRO | Endogenous fluorescence |
| Counter-nucleus contrast | Rhodamine | eosin | SGH | nonspecific | (absent) | unclear | diverse antibodies | Endogenous fluorescence, THG |
| Collagen contrast | nonspecific | nonspecific | SGH | nonspecific | nonspecific | unclear | specific antibodies | SHG |
| Signal detection | epi | epi-like | epi | transmission | Transmission/epi | epi | epi-like | epi |
| Optical source | UV light emittind diode | visible fiber-coupled laser | ultrafast solid-state laser | engineered fiber laser | tunable solid-state laser | halogen bulb | visible fiber coupled laser | engineered fiber laser |
| Demonstrated features or applications | general H&E histology free of microscope slide | general H&E histology free of microscope slide | breast cancer intraoperative margin assessment | brain cancer intraoperative margin assessment | breast cancer intraoperative margin assessment | breast cancer ex vivo pathology | general volumetic immuno-histochemistry | breast cancer peritumoral field interrogation |