A confocal scanning microscope utilizes a laser beam with a very small depth of focus. The high degree of convergence of laser radiation enables very small sections to be targetted - optimally, 1 micrometre - through an individual cell. The incident beam is partially absorbed by the cell, often labelled with fluorescent compounds, and the transmitted light is detected by a photomultiplier.
With computer analysis, the photomultiplier signal at varying depth can be used to reconstruct a 3D image of the cell.
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