in vivo light microscopy with digital image analysis +
A method performed in or on a living body, for example, a procedure performed on an organ in situ or on the entire living organism, which incorporates use of light microscopy to produce picture files stored as data expressed in a discrete numerical form, followed by use of computer software to evaluate these resulting microscopic images. Light microscopy is the examination or observation of material through a light microscope, an optical instrument that uses visible light (electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between approximately 390 and 700 nm) processed through a lens or a combination of lenses to produce magnified images.