Compressed sensing method gives a new view of live cellular processes

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of California, San Francisco have developed an advanced approach for using super-resolution microscopy to view single cellular process in motion. This new method of compressed sensing provides improved spatial resolution. “We can now use our discovery using super-resolution microscopy with seconds or even sub-second temporal resolution for a large field of view to follow many more dynamic cellular processes,” said Lei Zhu, assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. “Much of our knowledge of the life of a cell comes from our ability to see the small structures within it.” The researchers show that compressed sensing can work with much higher molecule densities compared to other technologies and demonstrate live cell imaging of fluorescent protein-labeled microtubules with three-second temporal resolution.