New device documents clot formation in living mice

In the October 2002 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, Bruce and Barbara Furie, both Harvard Medical School professors of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, reportrf on the timing and assembly of three components in arterial thrombosis in mice. Their findings suggest a revised model of the earliest steps of blood coagulation. Using a specialized instrument they designed, the Harvard researchers have observed new details in the real-life drama of thrombus formation, one of the most deadly events in life. To observe the live action, the researchers peeked through the paper-thin membrane of the mouse scrotum using a new system that combines high-speed digital video microscopy with spectroscopy. The system snaps more than 1,000 confocal and widefield images a minute. In this study, the instrument recorded a dynamic 60-second show. More important for the researchers, it also captured the spectroscopic data for later analysis.