New Microscope Offers Hope for People Living with IBD

NEW microscope technology could help experts gain a better understanding of incurable bowel conditions and provide hope to thousands living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Scientists at the Rosalind Franklin Institute shared that the super-resolution microscopy technique, which operates at 10 times the resolution of conventional light microscopy, may help them to understand the mechanisms of IBD and provide better treatment options for patients. 1

Housed at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire, the Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscope works by incorporating a second, doughnut-shaped depletion laser.

The outer ring of this laser actively depletes fluorescence emitted by the first laser beam, while the centre remains unaffected, allowing fluorescent light emitted from the focal point – or the centre of the doughnut – to be detected in extreme detail.