Using imaging technologies to observe the natural course of biology in action, within living organisms, will help accelerate development of new diagnostics and treatments.

The Translational Biomedical Imaging Laboratory (TBIL) provides dynamic imaging equipment and technical expertise to accelerate the trajectory of scientific discovery from bench to bedside, and is currently collaborating on studies that include intestinal stem cell propagation, neuroblastoma and heart regeneration. TBIL is designed as a research accelerator that brings clinicians together with researchers who are defining the basic mechanisms that build organs, so that they can design better therapies.

Bioimaging includes powerful, innovative tools for the study of biological processes—such as confocal microscopes that can image virtually any specimen on a slide or culture dish, live-cell imaging and in-vivo fluorescence imaging. Additionally, confocal laser scanning microscopy allows investigators to acquire in-focus images from selected depths, a process known as optical sectioning. Images are then acquired point by point and reconstructed with a computer, allowing three-dimensional reconstructions of topologically complex structures. All of these methods hold enormous potential for a wide variety of diagnostic and therapeutic applications.