Numerical study of multi-conjugate large area wavefront correction for deep tissue microscopy

Tandem aberration correction optics (TACO) in wide-field structured illumination microscopy

Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is a powerful super-resolution imaging technique that uses patterned illumination to down-modulate high spatial-frequency information of samples. However, the presence of spatially-dependent aberrations can severely disrupt the illumination pattern, limiting the quality of SIM imaging. Conventional adaptive optics (AO) techniques that employ wavefront correctors at the pupil plane are not capable of effectively correcting these spatially-dependent aberrations. We introduce the Tandem Aberration Correction Optics (TACO) approach that combines both pupil AO and conjugate AO for aberration correction in SIM. TACO incorporates a deformable mirror (DM) for pupil AO in the detection path to correct for global aberrations, while a spatial light modulator (SLM) is placed at the plane conjugate to the aberration source near the sample plane, termed conjugate AO, to compensate spatially-varying aberrations in the illumination path. Our numerical simulations and experimental results show that the TACO approach can recover the illumination pattern close to an ideal condition, even when severely misshaped by aberrations, resulting in high-quality super-resolution SIM reconstruction. The TACO approach resolves a critical traditional shortcoming of aberration correction for structured illumination. This advance significantly expands the application of SIM imaging in the study of complex, particularly biological, samples and should be effective in other wide-field microscopies.

Adaptive optics for optical microscopy [Invited]

Optical microscopy is widely used to visualize fine structures. When applied to bioimaging, its performance is often degraded by sample-induced aberrations. In recent years, adaptive optics (AO), originally developed to correct for atmosphere-associated aberrations, has been applied to a wide range of microscopy modalities, enabling high- or super-resolution imaging of biological structure and function in complex tissues. Here, we review classic and recently developed AO techniques and their applications in optical microscopy.

Simultaneous scattering compensation at multiple points in multi-photon microscopy

The two-photon fluorescence imaging depth has been significantly improved in recent years by compensating for tissue scattering with wavefront correction. However, in most approaches the wavefront corrections are valid only over a small sample region on the order of 1 to 10 µm. In samples where most scattering structures are confined to a single plane, sample conjugate correction geometries can increase the observable field to a few tens of µm. Here, we apply a recently introduced fast converging scheme for sensor-less scattering correction termed "Dynamic Adaptive Scattering compensation Holography" (DASH) in a sample conjugate configuration with a high pixel count nematic liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM). Using a large SLM allows us to simultaneously correct for scattering at multiple field points, which can be distributed over the entire field of view provided by the objective lens. Despite the comparably slow refresh time of LC-SLMs, we achieve correction times on the order of 10 s per field point, which we show is sufficiently fast to counteract scattering at multiple sites in living mouse hippocampal tissue slices.

Aberration corrections of doughnut beam by adaptive optics in the turbid medium

The doughnut beam is a spatially structured beam which has been widely used in super-resolution microscopy, laser trapping and so on. However, when it passes through thick scattering medium, aberrations will seriously affect its performance. Currently, adaptive optics (AO) has become one of the most powerful tools to compensate aberrations. However, conventional AO always suffers from limited corrected field of view (FOV). Here, we propose a method with conjugate AO system based on coherent optical adaptive technique. The results show that the corrected FOV can be improved effectively. For a wide range of the optical applications with doughnut beam, our method has potentials in correcting aberrations with high speed in turbid media.(A) Mouse brain slice, (B) the distribution of r _PAO , (C) the distribution of r _CAO . The vortex beam focus of the blue point in (B) and (C) among a 137.5 × 137.5 μm FOV (D1) ideally, (D2) with scattering, (D3) in pupil AO system and (D4) in conjugate AO system.

Machine learning based adaptive optics for doughnut-shaped beam

The doughnut-shaped beam has been widely applied in the field of super-resolution microscopic imaging, micro-nanostructure lithography, ultra-high-density storage, and laser trapping. However, how to maintain the doughnut-shaped focus inside the scattering medium becomes a challenge, due to the wavefront aberrations. Here we demonstrate a machine learning based adaptive optics method to recover the doughnut-shaped focus with high speed. In our method, the relationship between the distorted doughnut-shaped intensity point spread function and the coefficients of the first 15 Zernike modes for phase correction is established. Experimental results show that the wavefront aberration with 101,784 optical control elements can be predicted within ~17 ms even using a personal computer, and 97.5% correction accuracy can be achieved in 200 repeated tests. Besides, we successfully apply this method in the scanning microscopy theoretically. With a large number of optical control elements and fast operation speed, our method may pave the way for many important applications in bioimaging, such as deep tissue stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy.

Large field of view correction by using conjugate adaptive optics with multiple guide stars

Adaptive optics has been widely used in the optical microscopy to recover high-resolution images deep into the sample. However, the corrected field of view (FOV) with a single correction is generally limited, which seriously restricts the imaging speed. In this article, we demonstrate a high-speed wavefront correction method by using the conjugate adaptive optical correction with multiple guide stars (CAOMG) based on the coherent optical adaptive technique. The results show that the CAOMG method can greatly improve the corrected FOV. For 120-μm-thick mouse brain tissue, the corrected FOV can be improved up to ~243 times of the conventional pupil adaptive optics (PAO) without additional time consumption. Therefore, this study shows the potential of high-speed imaging through scattering medium in biological science.

Fourier conjugate adaptive optics for deep-tissue large field of view imaging

Light microscopy enables multifunctional imaging of biological specimens at unprecedented depths and resolutions. However, the performance of all optical methods degrades with the imaging depth due to sample-induced aberrations. Methods of adaptive optics (AO), which are aimed at pre-compensation of these distortions, still suffer from a limited field of view and imaging depth as well as inconvenient microscope design. Here, I propose and investigate a new approach to overcome these limitations: Fourier image plane conjugate AO. Two experimental designs of the new approach are carefully studied, and an accurate comparison between different methods of AO is presented. Fourier conjugate AO provides a larger field of view, which can only be limited by the angular memory effect, and allows the optimal use of the spatial light modulator. Moreover, theoretically possible imaging depth of Fourier conjugate AO is limited only by the working distance of the objective and not by the microscope design.

Adaptive optics stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (AO-STORM) by particle swarm optimization

Stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) can achieve resolutions of better than 20nm imaging single fluorescently labeled cells. However, when optical aberrations induced by larger biological samples degrade the point spread function (PSF), the localization accuracy and number of localizations are both reduced, destroying the resolution of STORM. Adaptive optics (AO) can be used to correct the wavefront, restoring the high resolution of STORM. A challenge for AO-STORM microscopy is the development of robust optimization algorithms which can efficiently correct the wavefront from stochastic raw STORM images. Here we present the implementation of a particle swarm optimization (PSO) approach with a Fourier metric for real-time correction of wavefront aberrations during STORM acquisition. We apply our approach to imaging boutons 100 μm deep inside the central nervous system (CNS) of Drosophila melanogaster larvae achieving a resolution of 146 nm.

Generalized image deconvolution by exploiting the transmission matrix of an optical imaging system

Intact optical information of an object delivered through an imaging system is deteriorated by imperfect optical elements and unwanted defects. Image deconvolution has been widely exploited as a recovery technique due to its practical feasibility, and operates by assuming linear shift-invariant property of the imaging system. However, shift invariance does not rigorously hold in all imaging situations and is not a necessary condition for solving an inverse problem of light propagation. Several improved deconvolution techniques exploiting spatially variant point spread functions have been proposed in previous studies. However, the full characterization of an optical imaging system for compensating aberrations has not been considered. Here, we present a generalized method to solve the linear inverse problem of coherent light propagations without any regularization method or constraint on shift invariance by fully measuring the transmission matrix of the imaging system. Our results show that severe aberrations produced by a tilted lens or an inserted disordered layer can be corrected properly only by the proposed generalized image deconvolution. This work generalizes the theory of image deconvolution, and enables distortion-free imaging under general imaging condition.

Three-dimensional focusing through scattering media using conjugate adaptive optics with remote focusing (CAORF)

The small correction volume for conventional wavefront shaping methods limits their application in biological imaging through scattering media. We demonstrate large volume wavefront shaping through a scattering layer with a single correction by conjugate adaptive optics and remote focusing (CAORF). The remote focusing module can maintain the conjugation between the adaptive optical (AO) element and the scattering layer during three-dimensional scanning. This new configuration provides a wider correction volume by better utilization of the memory effect in a fast three-dimensional laser scanning microscope. Our results show that the proposed system can provide 10 times wider axial field of view compared with a conventional conjugate AO system when 16,384 segments are used on a spatial light modulator. We also demonstrate three-dimensional fluorescence imaging, multi-spot patterning through a scattering layer and two-photon imaging through mouse skull tissue.

Aberration compensation for optical trapping of cells within living mice

Optical tweezers have been used to trap and manipulate microparticles within living animals. When the optical trap is constructed with an oil-immersion objective, it suffers from spherical aberration. There have been many investigations on the influence of spherical aberration when the particles are trapped in a water medium. However, the dependence of optical force on trapping depth is still ambiguous when the trapped particles are immersed in a high refractive index medium (such as biological tissue, refractive index solution) in experiments. In this paper, the microparticles are immersed in an aqueous solution of glycerol to mimic the cells within biological tissue. As the trapping laser is focused into the specimen, spherical aberration is introduced, degrading the optical trapping performance. It is similar to trapping in water; altering the effective tube length can also compensate for the spherical aberration of the optical trap in a high refractive index medium. Finally, the cells in living mice are trapped by the optical tweezers with the help of spherical aberration compensation.

Characterization of wavefront errors in mouse cranial bone using second-harmonic generation

Optical aberrations significantly affect the resolution and signal-to-noise ratio of deep tissue microscopy. As multiphoton microscopy is applied deeper into tissue, the loss of resolution and signal due to propagation of light in a medium with heterogeneous refractive index becomes more serious. Efforts in imaging through the intact skull of mice cannot typically reach past the bone marrow ( ? 150 ?? ? m of depth) and have limited resolution and penetration depth. Mechanical bone thinning or optical ablation of bone enables deeper imaging, but these methods are highly invasive and may impact tissue biology. Adaptive optics is a promising noninvasive alternative for restoring optical resolution. We characterize the aberrations present in bone using second-harmonic generation imaging of collagen. We simulate light propagation through highly scattering bone and evaluate the effect of aberrations on the point spread function. We then calculate the wavefront and expand it in Zernike orthogonal polynomials to determine the strength of different optical aberrations. We further compare the corrected wavefront and the residual wavefront error, and suggest a correction element with high number of elements or multiconjugate wavefront correction for this highly scattering environment.

Widefield fluorescence microscopy with sensor-based conjugate adaptive optics using oblique back illumination

We describe a wavefront sensor strategy for the implementation of adaptive optics (AO) in microscope applications involving thick, scattering media. The strategy is based on the exploitation of multiple scattering to provide oblique back illumination of the wavefront-sensor focal plane, enabling a simple and direct measurement of the flux-density tilt angles caused by aberrations at this plane. Advantages of the sensor are that it provides a large measurement field of view (FOV) while requiring no guide star, making it particularly adapted to a type of AO called conjugate AO, which provides a large correction FOV in cases when sample-induced aberrations arise from a single dominant plane (e.g., the sample surface). We apply conjugate AO here to widefield (i.e., nonscanning) fluorescence microscopy for the first time and demonstrate dynamic wavefront correction in a closed-loop implementation.

Detecting relative speed changes of moving objects through scattering medium by using wavefront shaping and laser speckle contrast analysis

Imaging through a scattering medium has been a main challenge in modern optical imaging field. Recently, imaging through scattering medium based on wavefront shaping has been reported. However, it has not been clearly investigated to apply the optical memory effect based iterative wavefront shaping technique in speed estimation of a moving object through scattering medium. Here, we proposed to combine the iterative wavefront shaping technique with laser speckle contrast analysis method to detect the relative speed changes of moving objects through scattering medium. Phantom experiments were performed to validate our method.

In vivo volumetric imaging of biological dynamics in deep tissue via wavefront engineering

Biological systems undergo dynamical changes continuously which span multiple spatial and temporal scales. To study these complex biological dynamics in vivo, high-speed volumetric imaging that can work at large imaging depth is highly desired. However, deep tissue imaging suffers from wavefront distortion, resulting in reduced Strehl ratio and image quality. Here we combine the two wavefront engineering methods developed in our lab, namely the optical phase-locked ultrasound lens based volumetric imaging and the iterative multiphoton adaptive compensation technique, and demonstrate in vivo volumetric imaging of microglial and mitochondrial dynamics at large depth in mouse brain cortex and lymph node, respectively.

Axial range of conjugate adaptive optics in two-photon microscopy

We describe an adaptive optics technique for two-photon microscopy in which the deformable mirror used for aberration compensation is positioned in a plane conjugate to the plane of the aberration. We demonstrate in a proof-of-principle experiment that this technique yields a large field of view advantage in comparison to standard pupil-conjugate adaptive optics. Further, we show that the extended field of view in conjugate AO is maintained over a relatively large axial translation of the deformable mirror with respect to the conjugate plane. We conclude with a discussion of limitations and prospects for the conjugate AO technique in two-photon biological microscopy.

High-resolution in vivo imaging of mouse brain through the intact skull

Multiphoton microscopy is the current method of choice for in vivo deep-tissue imaging. The long laser wavelength suffers less scattering, and the 3D-confined excitation permits the use of scattered signal light. However, the imaging depth is still limited because of the complex refractive index distribution of biological tissue, which scrambles the incident light and destroys the optical focus needed for high resolution imaging. Here, we demonstrate a wavefront-shaping scheme that allows clear imaging through extremely turbid biological tissue, such as the skull, over an extended corrected field of view (FOV). The complex wavefront correction is obtained and directly conjugated to the turbid layer in a noninvasive manner. Using this technique, we demonstrate in vivo submicron-resolution imaging of neural dendrites and microglia dynamics through the intact skulls of adult mice. This is the first observation, to our knowledge, of dynamic morphological changes of microglia through the intact skull, allowing truly noninvasive studies of microglial immune activities free from external perturbations.

Controlled light propagation through complex media introduction

A sampling of papers is assembled to represent the active field of controlled light propagation through complex media.