Biomedical applications of holographic microspectroscopy [invited]

Hyperspectral Imaging for Clinical Applications

Measuring morphological and biochemical features of tissue is crucial for disease diagnosis and surgical guidance, providing clinically significant information related to pathophysiology. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) techniques obtain both spatial and spectral features of tissue without labeling molecules such as fluorescent dyes, which provides rich information for improved disease diagnosis and treatment. Recent advances in HSI systems have demonstrated its potential for clinical applications, especially in disease diagnosis and image-guided surgery. This review summarizes the basic principle of HSI and optical systems, deep-learning-based image analysis, and clinical applications of HSI to provide insight into this rapidly growing field of research. In addition, the challenges facing the clinical implementation of HSI techniques are discussed.

Holotomography: Refractive Index as an Intrinsic Imaging Contrast for 3-D Label-Free Live Cell Imaging

Live cell imaging provides essential information in the investigation of cell biology and related pathophysiology. Refractive index (RI) can serve as intrinsic optical imaging contrast for 3-D label-free and quantitative live cell imaging, and provide invaluable information to understand various dynamics of cells and tissues for the study of numerous fields. Recently significant advances have been made in imaging methods and analysis approaches utilizing RI, which are now being transferred to biological and medical research fields, providing novel approaches to investigate the pathophysiology of cells. To provide insight into how RI can be used as an imaging contrast for imaging of biological specimens, here we provide the basic principle of RI-based imaging techniques and summarize recent progress on applications, ranging from microbiology, hematology, infectious diseases, hematology, and histopathology.

Evidence of Skin Barrier Damage by Cyclic Siloxanes (Silicones)-Using Digital Holographic Microscopy

Cyclic siloxanes (D4, D5, D6) are widely used in skin products. They improve skin sensory properties and alleviate dry skin, but there is still one report (published 2019), which regards their effects on the destruction of the skin barrier, by using fluorescence microscopy and attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). A new skin-imaging technique, digital holographic microscopy (DHM), was used for the first time to investigate the impact of D4, D5, and D6 on the skin barrier. We observed irreversible damage of the stratum corneum due to the interaction with cyclic siloxanes. These substances changed: (a) the first level of the skin barrier through destabilization of the intercellular lipid lamellae and destruction of the corneocyte structure (measured with axial nanometer resolution), (b) the second level by collapse of not only corneocytes but also of a significant part of the clusters, leading to the loss of the stratum corneum integrity and formation of the lacunae, (c) the third level as an effect of the change in the surface geometrical topography of the stratum corneum and disruption of the integrity of this skin layer, measured with lateral micrometer resolution. DHM allowed also to identify an important pathway for substances to penetrate into the skin through canyons surrounding the clusters. Our investigations provide advanced information for understanding the mechanisms by which various substances pass the skin barrier, including uncontrolled diffusion into the skin.

Speckle-Correlation Scattering Matrix Approaches for Imaging and Sensing through Turbidity

The development of optical and computational techniques has enabled imaging without the need for traditional optical imaging systems. Modern lensless imaging techniques overcome several restrictions imposed by lenses, while preserving or even surpassing the capability of lens-based imaging. However, existing lensless methods often rely on a priori information about objects or imaging conditions. Thus, they are not ideal for general imaging purposes. The recent development of the speckle-correlation scattering matrix (SSM) techniques facilitates new opportunities for lensless imaging and sensing. In this review, we present the fundamentals of SSM methods and highlight recent implementations for holographic imaging, microscopy, optical mode demultiplexing, and quantification of the degree of the coherence of light. We conclude with a discussion of the potential of SSM and future research directions.

A Wearable Fiberless Optical Sensor for Continuous Monitoring of Cerebral Blood Flow in Mice

Continuous and longitudinal monitoring of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in animal models provides information for studying the mechanisms and interventions of various cerebral diseases. Since anesthesia may affect brain hemodynamics, researchers have been seeking wearable devices for use in conscious animals. We present a wearable diffuse speckle contrast flowmeter (DSCF) probe for monitoring CBF variations in mice. The DSCF probe consists of a small low-power near-infrared laser diode as a point source and an ultra-small low-power CMOS camera as a 2D detector array, which can be affixed on a mouse head. The movement of red blood cells in brain cortex (i.e., CBF) produces spatial fluctuations of laser speckles, which are captured by the camera. The DSCF system was calibrated using tissue phantoms and validated in a human forearm and mouse brains for continuous monitoring of blood flow increases and decreases against the established technologies. Significant correlations were observed among these measurements (R² ≥ 0.80, p < 10^-5). This small fiberless probe has the potential to be worn by a freely moving conscious mouse. Moreover, the flexible source-detector configuration allows for varied probing depths up to ~8 mm, which is sufficient for transcranially detecting CBF in the cortices of rodents and newborn infants.

Reference-free polarization-sensitive quantitative phase imaging using single-point optical phase conjugation

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method of polarization-sensitive quantitative phase imaging using two photodetectors and a digital micromirror device. Instead of recording wide-field interference patterns, finding the modulation patterns maximizing focused intensities in terms of the polarization states enables polarization-dependent quantitative phase imaging without the need for a reference beam and an image sensor. The feasibility of the present method is experimentally validated by reconstructing Jones matrices of several samples including a polystyrene microsphere, a maize starch granule, and a mouse retinal nerve fiber layer. Since the present method is simple and sufficiently general, we expect that it may offer solutions for quantitative phase imaging of birefringent materials.

Super-resolution three-dimensional fluorescence and optical diffraction tomography of live cells using structured illumination generated by a digital micromirror device

We present a multimodal approach for measuring the three-dimensional (3D) refractive index (RI) and fluorescence distributions of live cells by combining optical diffraction tomography (ODT) and 3D structured illumination microscopy (SIM). A digital micromirror device is utilized to generate structured illumination patterns for both ODT and SIM, which enables fast and stable measurements. To verify its feasibility and applicability, the proposed method is used to measure the 3D RI distribution and 3D fluorescence image of various samples, including a cluster of fluorescent beads, and the time-lapse 3D RI dynamics of fluorescent beads inside a HeLa cell, from which the trajectory of the beads in the HeLa cell is analyzed using spatiotemporal correlations.

Measurements of complex refractive index change of photoactive yellow protein over a wide wavelength range using hyperspectral quantitative phase imaging

A novel optical holographic technique is presented to simultaneously measure both the real and imaginary components of the complex refractive index (CRI) of a protein solution over a wide visible wavelength range. Quantitative phase imaging was employed to precisely measure the optical field transmitted from a protein solution, from which the CRIs of the protein solution were retrieved using the Fourier light scattering technique. Using this method, we characterized the CRIs of the two dominant structural states of a photoactive yellow protein solution over a broad wavelength range (461-582 nm). The significant CRI deviation between the two structural states was quantified and analysed. The results of both states show the similar overall shape of the expected rRI obtained from the Kramers-Kronig relations.

Tomographic phase microscopy: principles and applications in bioimaging [Invited]

Tomographic phase microscopy (TPM) is an emerging optical microscopic technique for bioimaging. TPM uses digital holographic measurements of complex scattered fields to reconstruct three-dimensional refractive index (RI) maps of cells with diffraction-limited resolution by solving inverse scattering problems. In this paper, we review the developments of TPM from the fundamental physics to its applications in bioimaging. We first provide a comprehensive description of the tomographic reconstruction physical models used in TPM. The RI map reconstruction algorithms and various regularization methods are discussed. Selected TPM applications for cellular imaging, particularly in hematology, are reviewed. Finally, we examine the limitations of current TPM systems, propose future solutions, and envision promising directions in biomedical research.

Visualization and label-free quantification of microfluidic mixing using quantitative phase imaging

Microfluidic mixing plays a key role in various fields, including biomedicine and chemical engineering. To date, although various approaches for imaging microfluidic mixing have been proposed, they provide only quantitative imaging capability and require exogenous labeling agents. Quantitative phase imaging techniques, however, circumvent these problems and offer label-free quantitative information about concentration maps of microfluidic mixing. We present the quantitative phase imaging of microfluidic mixing in various types of polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic channels with different geometries; the feasibility of the present method was validated by comparing it with the results obtained by theoretical calculation based on Fick's law.

Label-free high-resolution 3-D imaging of gold nanoparticles inside live cells using optical diffraction tomography

Delivery of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) into live cells has high potentials, ranging from molecular-specific imaging, photodiagnostics, to photothermal therapy. However, studying the long-term dynamics of cells with GNPs using conventional fluorescence techniques suffers from phototoxicity and photobleaching. Here, we present a method for 3-D imaging of GNPs inside live cells exploiting refractive index (RI) as imaging contrast. Employing optical diffraction tomography, 3-D RI tomograms of live cells with GNPs are precisely measured for an extended period with sub-micrometer resolution. The locations and contents of GNPs in live cells are precisely addressed and quantified due to their distinctly high RI values, which was validated by confocal fluorescence imaging of fluorescent dye conjugated GNPs. In addition, we perform quantitative imaging analysis including the segmentations of GNPs in the cytosol, the volume distributions of aggregated GNPs, and the temporal evolution of GNPs contents in HeLa and 4T1 cells.

Three-dimensional label-free imaging and quantification of lipid droplets in live hepatocytes

Lipid droplets (LDs) are subcellular organelles with important roles in lipid storage and metabolism and involved in various diseases including cancer, obesity, and diabetes. Conventional methods, however, have limited ability to provide quantitative information on individual LDs and have limited capability for three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of LDs in live cells especially for fast acquisition of 3-D dynamics. Here, we present an optical method based on 3-D quantitative phase imaging to measure the 3-D structural distribution and biochemical parameters (concentration and dry mass) of individual LDs in live cells without using exogenous labelling agents. The biochemical change of LDs under oleic acid treatment was quantitatively investigated, and 4-D tracking of the fast dynamics of LDs revealed the intracellular transport of LDs in live cells.

White-light quantitative phase imaging unit

We introduce the white-light quantitative phase imaging unit (WQPIU) as a practical realization of quantitative phase imaging (QPI) on standard microscope platforms. The WQPIU is a compact stand-alone unit which measures sample induced phase delay under white-light illumination. It does not require any modification of the microscope or additional accessories for its use. The principle of the WQPIU based on lateral shearing interferometry and phase shifting interferometry provides a cost-effective and user-friendly use of QPI. The validity and capacity of the presented method are demonstrated by measuring quantitative phase images of polystyrene beads, human red blood cells, HeLa cells and mouse white blood cells. With speckle-free imaging capability due to the use of white-light illumination, the WQPIU is expected to expand the scope of QPI in biological sciences as a powerful but simple imaging tool.

Hyperspectral optical diffraction tomography

Here, we present a novel microscopic technique for measuring wavelength-dependent three-dimensional (3-D) distributions of the refractive indices (RIs) of microscopic samples in the visible wavelengths. Employing 3-D quantitative phase microscopy techniques with a wavelength-swept source, 3-D RI tomograms were obtained in the range of 450 - 700 nm with a spectral resolution of a few nanometers. The capability of the technique was demonstrated by measuring the hyperspectral 3-D RI tomograms of polystyrene beads, human red blood cells, and hepatocytes. The results demonstrate the potential for label-free molecular specific 3-D tomography of biological samples.

Dispersion-based stimulated Raman scattering spectroscopy, holography, and optical coherence tomography

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) enables fast, high resolution imaging of chemical constituents important to biological structures and functional processes, both in a label-free manner and using exogenous biomarkers. While this technology has shown remarkable potential, it is currently limited to point scanning and can only probe a few Raman bands at a time (most often, only one). In this work we take a fundamentally different approach to detecting the small nonlinear signals based on dispersion effects that accompany the loss/gain processes in SRS. In this proof of concept, we demonstrate that the dispersive measurements are more robust to noise compared to amplitude-based measurements, which then permit spectral or spatial multiplexing (potentially both, simultaneously). Finally, we illustrate how this method may enable different strategies for biochemical imaging using phase microscopy and optical coherence tomography.

Label-free characterization of white blood cells by measuring 3D refractive index maps

The characterization of white blood cells (WBCs) is crucial for blood analyses and disease diagnoses. However, current standard techniques rely on cell labeling, a process which imposes significant limitations. Here we present three-dimensional (3D) optical measurements and the label-free characterization of mouse WBCs using optical diffraction tomography. 3D refractive index (RI) tomograms of individual WBCs are constructed from multiple two-dimensional quantitative phase images of samples illuminated at various angles of incidence. Measurements of the 3D RI tomogram of WBCs enable the separation of heterogeneous populations of WBCs using quantitative morphological and biochemical information. Time-lapse tomographic measurements also provide the 3D trajectory of micrometer-sized beads ingested by WBCs. These results demonstrate that optical diffraction tomography can be a useful and versatile tool for the study of WBCs.

Comparative study of iterative reconstruction algorithms for missing cone problems in optical diffraction tomography

In optical tomography, there exist certain spatial frequency components that cannot be measured due to the limited projection angles imposed by the numerical aperture of objective lenses. This limitation, often called as the missing cone problem, causes the under-estimation of refractive index (RI) values in tomograms and results in severe elongations of RI distributions along the optical axis. To address this missing cone problem, several iterative reconstruction algorithms have been introduced exploiting prior knowledge such as positivity in RI differences or edges of samples. In this paper, various existing iterative reconstruction algorithms are systematically compared for mitigating the missing cone problem in optical diffraction tomography. In particular, three representative regularization schemes, edge preserving, total variation regularization, and the Gerchberg-Papoulis algorithm, were numerically and experimentally evaluated using spherical beads as well as real biological samples; human red blood cells and hepatocyte cells. Our work will provide important guidelines for choosing the appropriate regularization in ODT.

Experimental observations of spectral changes produced by individual microscopic spheres

Spectral changes in individual micrometer-sized scatters are experimentally measured. Using an interferometric microscope equipped with a wavelength-swept illumination, the optical fields diffracted from the individual scatters are measured precisely, from which 2D light scattering spectra were retrieved as functions of the wavelength and scattering angle. In the measured scattering spectra of individual scatters, spectral shifts were clearly observed, which is also directly explained using the Mie scattering theory.