Chemical imaging in biology and medicine using ion microscopy

The ability to quantitatively map the distribution of elements on the micrometer scale and smaller with high sensitivity and isotopic discrimination is unique to ion microscopy. The information contained in ion images can be crucial to the study of the solid state, where chemical heterogeneity is often directly related to observed behavior. The tools of digital image processing allow the extraction of quantitative information from the image data. These techniques coupled with improved instrumentation for the detection of ion images drastically increase the problem solving capabilities of the ion microscope. The use of such methods and instrumentation in the ion microscopic analyses of cell cultures and tissues of biological and biomedical relevance will be discussed.