Light sheet microscopy for histopathology applications

Light sheet microscopy (LSM) is an evolving optical imaging technique with a plane illumination for optical sectioning and volumetric imaging spanning cell biology, embryology, and in vivo live imaging. Here, we focus on emerging biomedical applications of LSM for tissue samples. Decoupling of the light sheet illumination from detection enables high-speed and large field-of-view imaging with minimal photobleaching and phototoxicity. These unique characteristics of the LSM technique can be easily adapted and potentially replace conventional histopathological procedures. In this review, we cover LSM technology from its inception to its most advanced technology; in particular, we highlight the human histopathological imaging applications to demonstrate LSM’s rapid diagnostic ability in comparison with conventional histopathological procedures. We anticipate that the LSM technique can become a useful three-dimensional imaging tool for assessing human biopsies in the near future.