Patent ID: 8084754

Claim:
A method for high spatial resolution imaging of a structure of interest in a specimen, having the steps: selecting a substance from a group of substances which can be converted repeatedly by a switching signal from a first state into a second state, which can return from the second state into the first state, and which provide an optical measurement signal in one of their first and second states only; marking the specimen's structure of interest in the specimen with molecules of the substance; applying an intensity of the switching signal to the specimen in order to convert fractions of the substance into the second state by the switching signal, the intensity of the switching signal being set such that at least 10% of the molecules of the substance being in the one of the first and second states providing the optical measurement signal are at a distance from their closest neighboring molecules in the one of the first and second states providing the optical measurement signal, which is greater than the spatial resolution limit of the imaging of the specimen onto the sensor array; imaging the specimen onto a sensor array, a spatial resolution limit of the imaging being greater than an average distance between closest neighboring molecules of the substance in the specimen; using the sensor array to register the optical measurement signal which comes from the specimen, in order to record an intensity distribution of the measurement signal over the sensor array; separating the optical measurement signal which comes from molecules of the substance in the one of the first and second states providing the optical measurement signal, which are at a smaller distance from one another than the distance which is greater than the spatial resolution limit of the imaging of the specimen onto the sensor array, from the optical measurement signal which comes from the molecules of the substance in the one of the first and second states providing the optical measurement signal, which are at a distance from their closest neighboring molecules in the one of the first and second states providing the optical measurement signal, which is greater than the spatial resolution limit of the imaging of the specimen onto the sensor array; and determining the position in the specimen of the molecules of the substance from the intensity distribution of the measurement signal over the sensor array coming from the molecules of the substance in the one of the first and second states providing the optical measurement signal, which are at a distance from their closest neighboring molecules in the one of the first and second states providing the optical measurement signal, which is greater than the spatial resolution limit of the imaging of the specimen onto the sensor array, only.