Optical physics enables advances in multiphoton imaging

Since the initial images were taken using a multiphoton imaging technique the method has rapidly established itself as the preferred method for imaging deeply into biological samples with micron resolution in three dimensions. Multiphoton imaging has thus enabled researchers in the life sciences to undertake studies that had previously been believed to be impossible without significantly perturbing the sample. Many of these experiments have only been realized due to close cooperation between optical physicists, from a range of disciplines, and the biomedical researchers. This paper will provide a general review of the current state of the field demonstrating how the various aspects of the physics development have brought the multiphoton technique to its current position at the forefront of biological microscopy.