Enhancing precision in time-domain fluorescence lifetime imaging

In biological applications of fluorescence lifetime imaging, low signals from samples can be a challenge, causing poor lifetime precision. We demonstrate how optimal signal gating (a method applied to the temporal dimension of a lifetime image) and novel total variation denoising models (a method applied to the spatial dimension of a lifetime image) can be used in time-domain fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to improve lifetime precision. In time-gated FLIM, notable fourfold precision improvements were observed in a low-light example. This approach can be employed to improve FLIM data while minimizing sample light exposure and increasing imaging speed. (C) 2010 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [DOI: 10.1117/1.3494566]