Quantitative phase microscopy of articular chondrocyte dynamics by wide-field digital interferometry

We experimentally implement label-free phase microscopy using wide-field digital interferometry (WFDI) techniques to retrieve quantitative volumetric data of articular chondrocyte dynamics. Using the scanless interferometric system, we visualize chondrocyte swelling and bursting induced by hypo-osmotic pressure. Reconstructed images are obtained by an efficient digital process. We use the resulting images to calculate quantitative temporal-spatial morphological parameters of the cell, with the observed dynamics limited only by the true frame rate of the camera. To show the utility of WFDI in recording articular chondrocyte dynamics, we also provide an experimental comparison of WFDI and differential interference contrast microscopy. (C) 2010 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [DOI: 10.1117/1.3290242]