High-Speed Imaging Meets Single-Cell Analysis

The Bigger PictureSingle-cell analysis is the study of individual biological cells among populations for identifying cell-to-cell differences and elucidating cellular heterogeneity invisible to population-averaged measurements. It is important for cancer biology, immunology, microbiology, and stem cell biology. In recent years, high-speed imaging has been shown to be highly effective for large-scale single-cell analysis by virtue of its ability to acquire information-rich images at a high frame rate to obtain a snapshot library of numerous cells in a short duration of time (with one cell per frame). Here, we review several emerging high-speed imaging methods and their emerging utility to large-scale single-cell analysis.SummaryHigh-speed imaging is an indispensable tool in today's scientific research, industry, and energy because it enables blur-free observation and monitoring of fast transient dynamics. It is commonly used for various applications, including sports, manufacturing, and fusion science, in which slow-motion analysis is conducted to elucidate their dynamics. On the other hand, the past several years have seen another and radically new application of high-speed imaging, namely single-cell analysis—the study of individual biological cells among populations for identifying cell-to-cell differences and elucidating cellular heterogeneity invisible to population-averaged measurements. This exciting application has been made possible by exploiting high-speed imaging's capability of acquiring information-rich images at high frame rates to provide a snapshot library of numerous cells in a short duration of time (with one cell per frame). In this article, we review the principles of several unique high-speed imaging methods for microscopy and their emerging application to large-scale single-cell analysis.Graphical abstract