Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency caused by body's extreme inflammatory response to an infection. The important features of sepsis are the alternations in leukocyte numbers, enhanced adhesiveness of leukocytes on the blood vessel walls, and impaired microvasculature network that can ultimately lead to organ failure and death. To non-invasively quantify these parameters, we have built a miniaturized oblique back-illumination microscope capable of high-resolution and label-free imaging of human microvasculature in vivo. The developed instrument was used to capture high-speed videos of circulating, rolling, and adherent leukocytes. We have also developed a deep learning data analysis algorithm for rapid diagnosis of sepsis without drawing blood.
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