Laser Scanning Microscopes have initiated a breakthrough in biomedical imaging. High contrast due to effective suppression of light scattered from outside the focal plane, simple fluorescence imaging by single photon or two-photon excitation and the 3D imaging capability are features beyond the reach of conventional microscopes.

To investigate molecular interactions in cells and subcellular structures fluorescence markers are used which specifically link to protein structures. Staining the sample with different dyes and recording the fluorescence image reveals the cell structures via the different wavelenth and fluorescence decay time of the dyes. Furthermore, energy transfer between the dye molecules and the proteins changes the fluorescence quantum efficiency and thus the fluorescence decay time. Due to the variation of the dye concentration such effects are not visible in the intensity images. Therefore, parallel imaging of the fluorescence intensity and the fluorescence decay

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