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方法，将光传递到大脑，用于成像和刺激大脑活动。光是探测大脑的强大工具，可以用来监测神经元的放电或使用光遗传学直接激活神经元。光波前整形技术可以使光更深入地穿透大脑。然而，这些技术受到阻碍，因为将形状的光传递到大脑是具有挑战性的。该项目通过开发一种新系统来解决这一挑战，该系统利用光纤束和光波前整形，即使在光纤束移动的情况下，也能可靠地向大脑传递有形状的光。这项研究的结果将为神经科学家提供新的工具，将形状的光传递到大脑，使研究实验室的实验更好，并为未来的临床应用铺平道路。该项目更广泛的影响包括为Harvey Mudd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整合的教育机会。此外，PI将开发新的教育资源，通过基于python的Jupyter笔记本中的波前塑造模拟和探索光纤和光物质在散射介质中的相互作用的低成本实验室实验，拓宽光学的访问范围。多芯光纤提供了一种有吸引力的方式来将光传递到大脑中感兴趣的区域，但由于芯相关的相位延迟受到各种物理和环境因素（如运动和温度波动）的影响，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，而无需访问远端，从而解决这一挑战，即使在芯到芯相位延迟动态变化的情况下，也可以灵活地将形状波前传递到深层组织。该研究计划分为两个主要任务：(1)开发一种低相干干涉测量系统来测量多芯光纤的相位畸变，并表征时间响应和相位灵敏度等关键性能指标；(2)使用具有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，并在光纤远端之外创建所需的波前。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.