Molecular Imaging and Digital Pathology

Aim

Knowledge and understanding

Having completed the course, the student is expected to be able to:

• Explain fundamental preparation techniques of tissues, cells and small organisms in different microscopic techniques within light-, fluorescence- and electron-microscopy
• Explain the difference between different microscopic techniques and describe their advantages and disadvantages
• Explain how a digital image is retrieved and what a digital image means, and describe advantages and disadvantages with accepted imaging processes
• Explain key concepts and principles of accepted image adjustments and analyses, and describe risks with digital imaging
• Describe how different microscopic techniques and imaging methods can be used to assess diseases

Skills and abilities

On completion of the course, the student shall be able to:

• Suggest a relevant preparation technique and microscopic method to solve a given scientific question
• Correctly use light-, fluorescence- and electron-microscopy for studies of biological material, both living and after fixation
• At the basic level, apply software-based imaging for analysis of digitalimages

Judgement ability and approach

On completion of the course, the student shall be able to:

• Reflect on possibilities and limitations of different microscopic techniques, sample preparations and digital images when analyzing cells, tissues and small organisms
• Critically review and evaluate reliability of microscopic images, both in raw format and after digital imaging

Content

The course gives an introduction to different imaging techniques in research and health care that will provide the student with a basic ability to assess and communicate results from imaging- based studies and to suggest suitable microscopic methods for different medical and biomedical questions.

The course provides knowledge about sample preparation of tissues, cells and small organisms, retrieval of digital images and key concepts in imaging aimed for students within the biological and medical sciences. It gives the students theoretical and practical knowledge to understand both basic and advanced microscopic techniques and how these techniques are preferably used to solve different scientific questions. Digital imaging techniques are also used for studies of biological samples. In the course includes specific techniques and methods for microscopy in different structural levels (light- fluorescence- and electron-microscopy) and digital analyse of tissues, cells and model organisms.

The course encompasses the fields of medical imaging science, physiology, anatomy, pathology, and molecular biology and cell biology that are integrated with biomedical laboratory techniques, biomedical ethics and scientific approach.