Fiber-Delivered Programmable Supercontinuum Laser Adaptive to EvolvingNeurophotonic Research

光纤传输的可编程超连续谱激光器适应不断发展的神经光子学研究

• 批准号: 9915977
• 负责人: Matthew Durack
• 金额: $ 43.26万
• 依托单位: LIVEBX, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-04-15 至 2022-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9915977
• 关键词: Academia; Achievement; Action Potentials; Address; Anatomy; Animals; Area; BRAIN initiative; Behavioral Research; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical Engineering; Biophotonics; Brain; Brain Diseases; Brain imaging; Businesses; Cells; Collaborations; Communities; Coupled; Devices; Electrophysiology (science); Energy Metabolism; Engineering; Environment; Fiber; Formalin; Frequencies; Generations; Genetic; Goals; Head; Histopathology; Hospitals; Human; Image; In Vitro; Industrialization; Intervention; Label; Laboratories; Laboratory Animals; Lasers; Metabolic; Microscope; Mus; Neurons; Neurosciences; Neurosurgeon; Operating Rooms; Operative Surgical Procedures; Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures; Optics; Organoids; Outcome; Output; Pathologist; Pathology; Performance; Phase; Phase Transition; Phenotype; Physiologic pulse; Population; Pre-Clinical Model; Production; Research; Research Personnel; Research Priority; Resolution; Rodent; Scientist; Shapes; Slice; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; Source; Specialist; Structure; Surgeon; Surgical margins; Synapses; System; Technology; Testing; Time; Tissues; Training; Translating; United States National Institutes of Health; Vascularization; Veterinarians; Work; animal facility; base; brain research; brain surgery; brain tissue; calcium indicator; commercialization; driving force; drug development; drug discovery; holographic stimulation; imaging probe; improved; in vivo; in vivo imaging; innovative technologies; medical specialties; metrology; miniaturize; multidisciplinary; neural circuit; neural network; operation; optogenetics; photonics; portability; pre-clinical; prevent; programs; prototype; radiologist; real-time images; relating to nervous system; research and development; spatiotemporal; therapeutic development; tool; user-friendly

SUMMARY Neurophotonics, including the prominent example of optogenetics, has been the driving force for brain research and one focal area of the NIH BRAIN Initiative established in 2013. In contrast to the genetic and biophotonic advancements that have transformed this field, the progress in laser source technology underlying these advancements has lagged behind, resulting in three technical barriers that limit the next level of scientific achievement in brain and behavioral sciences: (1) neuroscientists and biophotonic scientists have been limited by readily available commercial lasers that may not be the best solutions for their intended applications, due largely to the lack of full tunability in parameters such as wavelength, power, and temporal profile; (2) the user- unfriendly operation of tunable customer or commercial lasers has hindered the extension of laser source technology beyond non-laser experts and dedicated optical laboratories, and (3) the lack of adaption of installed lasers with free-space beam delivery often render them obsolete when new neuroscience needs and applications emerge. A fiber-deliverable programmable supercontinuum laser, based on systematic preliminary work in an academic laboratory, has potential to simultaneously overcome the three technical barriers. The prototype of this laser has shown promise to be applicable to general neuroscience, including diverse species (small animals, rodents, and humans), states (in vitro/ex vivo, head-fixed, and freely behaving), settings (optical laboratory, animal facility, pathology department, and operating room), operators (laser experts, imaging neuroscientists, veterinarians, pathologists, and neurosurgeons), and goals (basic study, therapeutics development, drug discovery, precision pathology, intraoperative assessment, and laser-assisted surgeries). It is thus desirable to seek further R&D opportunity in a small business environment, in order to allow wide access to this laser by the neuroscience community not trained extensively in laser source engineering. In this project, the R&D effort will first aim to overcome the remaining technical obstacles that hinder the seamless integration of coherent fiber supercontinuum generation and programmable pulse shaping, two photonic technologies dispensable for laser source engineering per se but indispensable for the laser source engineering that targets neuroscience. Subsequently, this laser will be tested in two prototypical systems broadly representative of neurophotonic applications with and without neural intervention. The construction of a more reliable prototype of this laser and the demonstration of its feasibility in the two prototypical neurophotonic systems will enable smooth transition of this R&D effort (SBIR Phase I) to Phase II stage. The whole project may ultimately facilitate wide access to cutting-edge ultrafast laser technology by the broad neuroscience community, in consistency with one goal of the NIH BRAIN Initiative to translate innovative technologies for brain or behavioral research from academia to the marketplace.

摘要 神经光子学，包括光遗传学的突出例子，一直是大脑研究的推动力 以及2013年成立的NIH大脑倡议的一个重点领域。与遗传学和生物光子学形成对比 改变了这一领域的进步，支持这些的激光光源技术的进步 进步已经落后，导致三个技术障碍限制了科学研究的下一个水平 脑科学和行为科学方面的成就：(1)神经科学家和生物光子学科学家受到限制 由于现成的商用激光器可能不是其预期应用的最佳解决方案， 主要是由于波长、功率和时间分布等参数缺乏完全可调性；(2)用户- 可调谐客户或商用激光器的不友好操作阻碍了激光光源的推广 非激光专家和专门的光学实验室之外的技术，以及(3)安装的 具有自由空间光束传输的激光通常会在新的神经科学需要和 应用程序应运而生。基于系统初步研究的光纤可编程超连续谱激光器 在学术实验室工作，有可能同时克服这三个技术障碍。 这种激光器的原型已经显示出可以应用于普通神经科学的前景，包括各种 物种(小动物、啮齿动物和人类)、状态(体外/体外、头部固定和自由行为)、环境 (光学实验室、动物设施、病理科和手术室)、操作员(激光专家、 成像神经科学家、兽医、病理学家和神经外科医生)和目标(基础研究、治疗学 开发、药物发现、精确病理学、术中评估和激光辅助手术)。 因此，在小型企业环境中寻求进一步的研发机会是可取的，以便允许广泛 未受过广泛激光源工程培训的神经科学界接触到这种激光。在这 项目中，研发工作将首先致力于克服阻碍无缝连接的剩余技术障碍 相干光纤超连续谱产生与可编程脉冲整形集成，双光子 对激光光源工程本身来说是必不可少的技术，但对激光光源工程来说却是不可或缺的技术 它针对的是神经科学。随后，该激光器将在两个原型系统中进行广泛的测试 有神经干预和无神经干预的神经光子学应用的代表。建设一个更多的 该激光器的可靠原型及其在两种原型神经光子中的可行性论证 系统将使这一研发工作(SBIR第一阶段)顺利过渡到第二阶段。整个项目 可能最终促进广泛的神经科学广泛获得尖端超快激光技术 社区，与NIH大脑倡议的一个目标保持一致，将创新技术转化为 从学术界到市场的大脑或行为研究。