Lensless fluorescence microscope for in vivo imaging

Microscopes are a ubiquitous tool in the life sciences and their applications have expanded into clinical practice. Through the microscope, the doctor can check the eyes, check the tissue for signs of cancer, and use it to perform surgery. However, microscopes are so large that they cannot be used to image many areas inside the body; moreover, optical lenses do not provide a perfect large field of view and high resolution at the same time.

To overcome these obstacles, a team from Rice University developed a microscope that did not use any lenses at all: the microscope was very small and could be attached to the top of the endoscope, which was used as an implant into the body. In order to monitor brain activity for a long time and to perform other applications that have not been tried due to the large size of existing microscopes.

The wide-area viewing angle fluorescence microscope developed by the Rice University team can focus on a few cubic millimeters of volume while still achieving micron-level imaging detail. In addition, you can increase the size of the wide area by increasing the size of the sensor. Since the sensor used is a conventional complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) detector, this is not a problem.

In order to be able to form a clear, high-quality image, the device relies on an "amplitude mask", which seems to be a precisely designed diffraction grating. The sensor captures light through an "amplitude mask" that looks completely different from the object being imaged. In order to form the final image, it is necessary to convert the imaging data into a high resolution image by an algorithm involving an "amplitude mask".

Since the device produces a focused image within a certain distance from the microscope, it is possible to create 3D images in a volume of a few cubic millimeters.