ERI: RUI: Wavefront shaping through flexible multicore fiber bundles for coherent light focusing and imaging in neurophotonics

这个工程研究启动(ERI)项目的目标是开发一种改进的将光传输到大脑以进行成像和刺激大脑活动的方法。光是探测大脑的强大工具，可以用来监测神经元的放电，或者利用光遗传学直接激活神经元。光学波前整形技术可以使光线更深入地穿透大脑。然而，这些技术受到阻碍，因为将成形的光传输到大脑是具有挑战性的。该项目通过开发一种新的系统来解决这一挑战，该系统利用光纤束和光学波前整形，即使在光纤束移动时也能可靠地将成形的光传输到大脑。研究结果将为神经科学家提供新的工具，向大脑提供成形光，使研究实验室能够进行更好的实验，并为未来的临床应用铺平道路。该项目的更广泛影响包括为哈维·穆德大学的本科生提供研究机会，提供科学研究方法、光学系统设计和神经光子学方面的紧密结合的教育机会。此外，PI将开发新的教育资源，通过在基于Python的Jupyter笔记本中进行波前整形模拟，以及探索散射介质中的光纤和光物质相互作用的低成本实验室实验，来扩大接触光学的途径。多核光纤提供了一种诱人的方式将光传输到大脑中感兴趣的区域，但由于依赖于核的相位延迟受到各种物理和环境因素的影响，如运动和温度波动，因此在实际应用中具有挑战性。该项目将通过开发方法来纠正多芯光纤的相位失真，而不需要接触远端，从而解决这一挑战，即使在芯到芯的相位延迟动态变化的情况下，也能够灵活地将成形波前传送到深层组织中。该研究计划分为两项主要任务：(1)开发一种低相干干涉测量系统来测量多芯光纤的相位失真，并表征关键性能指标，如时间响应和相位灵敏度；以及(2)使用波前整形的低相干干涉测量系统来校正多芯光纤中的相位延迟，并在光纤末端之外产生所需的波前。

The goal of this Engineering Research Initiation(ERI) project is to develop an improved method of delivering light to the brain for imaging and stimulating brain activity. Light is a powerful tool for probing the brain and can be used to monitor the firing of neurons or directly activate neurons using optogenetics. Optical wavefront shaping techniques can enable deeper light penetration in the brain. However, these techniques are stymied because it is challenging to deliver the shaped light to the brain. This project addresses this challenge by developing a new system which leverages fiber bundles and optical wavefront shaping to reliably deliver shaped light to the brain, even when the fiber bundle is moving. The outcomes of the research will provide new tools for neuroscientists to deliver shaped light to the brain, enabling better experiments in the research laboratory and paving the way for future clinical applications. The broader impacts of the project include research opportunities for undergraduate students at Harvey Mudd, providing tightly integrated educational opportunities in scientific research methods, optical system design, and neurophotonics. In addition, the PI will develop new educational resources to broaden access to optics through wavefront shaping simulations in Python-based Jupyter notebooks and low-cost lab experiments exploring optical fibers and light matter interactions in scattering media. Multicore fibers offer an attractive way to deliver light to regions of interest in the brain but are challenging to use in practical applications due to core-dependent phase delays which are impacted by a variety of physical and environmental factors such as movement and temperature fluctuations. The project will address this challenge by developing methods to correct the phase distortion of the multicore fiber without requiring access to the distal end, enabling shaped wavefronts to be flexibly delivered into deep tissue even when the core-to-core phase delays are dynamically changing. The research plan is divided into two major tasks: (1) developing a low-coherence interferometry system to measure the phase distortion of the multicore fiber and characterizing key performance metrics such as temporal response and phase sensitivity and (2) using the low-coherence interferometry system with wavefront shaping to correct for the phase delay in the multicore fiber and create desired wavefronts beyond the distal tip of the fiber.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.