{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T06:15:36Z","timestamp":1788156936883,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788134400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Infrared (IR) microscopy shows substantial potential for label-free tissue imaging in anatomic pathology, providing rich biochemical contrast. However, existing IR imaging technologies are constrained by slow acquisition speeds and limited spatial resolution. Here, we present a rapid, large-field bimodal imaging platform that integrates conventional brightfield microscopy with a lensless IR imaging scanner, enabling whole-slide IR image stack acquisition in minutes. Using a dedicated deep learning model, we implement an optical H&amp;amp;E staining strategy based on subcellular morpho-spectral fingerprinting. This approach achieves high-resolution visualization of tissue architecture with an effective spatial resolution of 500 nm, without chemical staining. Quantitative metrics, including PSNR (\u223c24), MS-SSIM (\u223c0.82), and LPIPS (\u223c0.22), validate the model's ability to accurately reproduce both the contrast and morphology of cellular structures. Additionally, an initial clinical evaluation on 110 regions of interest within 5 tissue sections demonstrates equivalence between our digital IR-based AI staining and conventional chemical staining, both in image quality and Gleason grading. Together, these results suggest that this IR-based virtual staining approach could provide a fast, chemical-free alternative for anatomic pathology workflows.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fbioe.2026.1774279","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T05:39:24Z","timestamp":1788154764000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mid-infrared microscopy for label-free digital staining: initial clinical assessment"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"L.","family":"Duraffourg","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"H.","family":"Borges","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Fernandes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Beurrier-Bousquet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J.","family":"Baraillon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"B.","family":"Taurel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J.","family":"Le Galudec","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"K.","family":"Vianey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cypath-RB","place":["Villeurbanne, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"C.","family":"Maisin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cypath-RB","place":["Villeurbanne, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"L.","family":"Samaison","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"F.","family":"Staroz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Dupoy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advanced Digital Mid-InfraRed (ADMIR)","place":["Moirans, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"025001","DOI":"10.1088\/2057-1739\/aaabc3","article-title":"Mid-infrared imaging in breast cancer tissue: an objective measure of grading breast cancer biopsies","volume":"4","author":"Amrania","year":"2018","journal-title":"Converg. 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