SBIR Phase I: Ultrathin endomicroscope

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是，使脑科学家能够使用高分辨率光学成像仪器，以最小的损伤到达目前无法接触到的大脑区域。该仪器包含细光纤探头，使其能够进入体内非常狭窄的空洞或组织的穿透。深部脑成像、光刺激和光消融都是可能的应用，所有这些都可以帮助了解大脑功能，并有可能解锁脑部疾病的治疗。该项目将开发的成像仪器可能适用于动物模型的科学研究，满足神经科学家和成像设备的需求。拟议的技术可以带来生物光子学仪器以及随后的生物医学应用方面的创新。该项目旨在推进具有广泛适用性的新型成像技术，以满足内窥镜市场的一个新细分市场。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目解决了内窥镜的科学脑成像研究中的关键需求，内窥镜的直径约为100微米，其横截面积比最薄的现有内窥镜小约10倍。虽然目前的内窥镜适合插入大型空腔，但它们的尺寸在脑成像应用中会产生过度的损伤。其目的是开发一种新的基本上侵入性较小的技术来研究新的成像探针，并在动物模型中验证原型仪器。预计在体内对深部亚细胞分辨率的神经元进行成像将成为例行公事，组织损伤最小。这种新的成像方法利用先进的机器学习和信号处理方法，在多模光纤中实现波前整形，以生成任意数字可重新编程的光图案和3D图像。超薄内窥镜(UTE)使用空间光调制器首先校准光纤，然后高速扫描光，补偿固有的模式色散和模式间耦合。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to empower brain scientists with a high-resolution optical imaging instrument to reach currently inaccessible regions of the brain with minimal damage. The instrument contains thin fiber optics probes that enable access to very narrow cavities within the body or penetration of tissue. Deep brain imaging, photo-stimulation, and photo-ablation are possible applications, all of which could help understand brain function and potentially unlock treatments for brain diseases. The imaging instrument to be developed in this project may be amenable to scientific studies in animal models, addressing the need of neuroscientists and imaging facilities. The proposed technology could bring about innovations in biophotonics instrumentation as well as in the ensuing biomedical applications. The project seeks to advance novel imaging technologies with broad applicability addressing a new segment in the endoscopy market.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses a critical need in scientific brain imaging studies for endoscopes that are minimally invasive with a diameter in the order of 100 microns, which represents a cross-area about 10 times smaller than the thinnest existing endoscopes. While current endoscopes are appropriate for insertion in large cavities, their size produces excessive damage in brain imaging applications. The objective is to develop a new class of fundamentally less invasive techniques to investigate novel imaging probes, and to validate a prototype instrument in animal models. It is anticipated that in-vivo imaging of neurons with subcellular resolution at depth will become routine with minimal tissue damage. This novel imaging approach implements wavefront shaping in multimode fibers, using advanced machine learning and signal processing methods, to generate arbitrary digitally-reprogrammable light patterns and 3D images. The ultrathin endomicroscope (UTE) uses a spatial light modulator to first calibrate the fiber and then scan light at high speed, compensating for the inherent modal dispersion and intermodal coupling.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.