Fast Electro-Optic Fluorescence Lifetime Microscopy (EOFLIM) for super-resolution microscopy and brain surgery.

Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM) is a powerful method for monitoring physicochemical parameters of cells and tissues, as well as biomolecular interactions, with applications in science, medicine, and industry.

However, its use is currently limited due to technological constraints regarding frame rate and sensitivity.We have developed a FLIM detector that enables highly sensitive, high-speed FLIM. It is based on the use of electro-optical elements as temporal gating units.

Electro-optical FLIM (EOFLIM) enables frame rates beyond 100 Hz for megapixel images, single-molecule sensitivity, and high-resolution imaging (numerical aperture > 1.3).We will demonstrate the innovation potential of our detector in two key applications: Super-resolution FLIM and Surgical FLIM. Super-resolution FLIM will be done in collaboration with Prof.

Huser (Univ. of Bielefeld). We will apply our EOFLIM detector to super-resolution microscopy at high frame rates in live cells and tissues.

Surgical FLIM will be done in collaboration with Prof Unterhuber (Medical Univ. of Vienna) and will aim at diagnosing cancerous tissue in brain biopsies. Super-resolution FLIM and Surgical FLIM will demonstrate the wide applicability of EOFLIM in research and medicine.