Dean, K.M. et al. Optica 4, 263–271 (2017).

Light-sheet microscopy is a valuable tool for imaging volumes at high speeds. However, some cellular processes occur too rapidly to be imaged, even with state-of-the-art equipment. Dean et al. developed parallelized light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (pLSFM) for rapid 3D imaging. In pLSFM, three laterally and axially displaced Gaussian light sheets are used to illuminate a tilted, coverslip-mounted specimen. The arrangement of the light sheets allows fluorescence from each light sheet to be detected independently, thus enabling high-speed volume imaging of samples such as cells grown on a coverslip. The researchers observed a nearly threefold increase in imaging rate relative to that of conventional light-sheet microscopy, with no change in photobleaching. They also show that the method enables rapidly moving endosomes and propagating calcium waves to be tracked in individual neurons.