Seeing deeply inside the body with the world's smallest microscope (2019–2020)
Abstract:
This Project aims to develop the world's smallest, next generation in vivo microscope that solves a long standing
problem in biomedicine ¿ how to image the interior of living organisms at a subcellular resolution in a minimally
invasive way. The Project will solve this problem by shrinking an entire microscope to the size of an optical fibre ¿
as thin as a single strand of hair. The functionality of the microscope will be demonstrated by imaging deep
regions of the central nervous system. This will revolutionise our diagnostic tools and the knowledge of
degenerative brain diseases. The new device will be equivalent, in terms of discovery potential and benefit, to the
effect of the Hubble telescope on progress in astronomy.