Scientists Create 3-D Models of Whole Mouse Organs

          ScienceDaily — Yale University engineers have for the first time created 3D models of whole intact mouse organs, a feat they accomplished using fluorescence microscopy. The team reports its findings in the May/June issue of the Journal of Biomedical Optics.
Combining an imaging technique called multiphoton microscopy with "optical clearing," which uses a solution that renders tissue transparent, the researchers were able to scan mouse organs and create high-resolution images of the brain, small intestine, large intestine, kidney, lung and testicles. They then created 3D models of the complete organs -- a feat that, until now, was only possible by slicing the organs into thin sections or destroying them in the process, a disadvantage if more information about the sample is needed after the fact.