Bioimaging relates to methods that non-invasively visualise biological processes in real time or visualise biological material that has been fixed for observation.
Bioimaging spans the observation of subcellular structures and entire cells over tissues up to entire multicellular organisms. It uses light, fluorescence, electrons, ultrasound, X-ray, magnetic resonance and positrons as sources for imaging.
In biology, visualizing cells and tissues by light and electron microscopy has led to more discoveries than any other technology. A comparison of how healthy cells and tissues look in comparison to their pathological state provides insight into the molecular nature of disease.
Imaging technologies are thus the central technology platform that drives fundamental research in most disciplines within the biological and biomedical sciences.