IDBR: TYPE A: Quantitative Polarization and Phase Microscope for label-free imaging of live cell and tissue dynamics

亚利桑那大学因开发定量偏振与相位显微镜（QP2M）而获奖。QP2M可以实时测量细胞和组织的光谱依赖定量偏振特性和相位信息；它对运动和振动不敏感，因为所有的信息都是在一次拍摄中获得的。显微镜测量光与细胞和组织相互作用的所有四种特性：强度、波长、偏振和相位。即时测量活细胞并随时间跟踪运动和过程的能力为细胞动力学，运动性以及细胞和组织形态的研究提供了有价值的信息。该项目将通过对微加工、光学仪器和生物成像的研究，为本科生和研究生带来光学科学和生物学的多学科研究和教育。这个项目的目标是整合定量偏振和相位成像技术，用于活细胞动力学的无标记成像。新型彩色偏振传感器将在单次拍摄中检测0度、45度和90度角的圆偏振光和三个线偏振光。该传感器将集成一个显微镜，可以同时捕获3个相移图像进行定量相位测量或4个不同偏振状态的图像进行定量偏振测量。偏振和相位成像的快速采集能力将允许光谱、相位和偏振分析的耦合，并可能揭示以前未获得的关于活细胞、组织和整个生物体动力学的重要信息，从而导致以前不可能的新发现。为该项目开发的偏振和相位成像技术也使癌症检测、疾病诊断和外科手术方面的新应用和实验成为可能。

An award is made to The University of Arizona to develop a Quantitative Polarization and Phase Microscope (QP2M). QP2M can measure the spectral dependent quantitative polarization properties and phase information of cell and tissue in real time; it is insensitive to motion and vibration because all information is acquired in a single shot. The microscope measures all four properties of light interacting with cell and tissue: intensity, wavelength, polarization, and phase. The ability to instantaneously measure live cells and follow motions and processes over time provides valuable information to the study of cellular dynamics, motility, and cell and tissue morphology. This project will bring multidisciplinary research and education in optical sciences and biology to both undergraduates and graduates students through the research in microfabrication, optical instrumentation, and bioimaging.The goal of this project is to integrate quantitative polarization and phase imaging techniques for label-free imaging of live cell dynamics. Novel color polarization sensor will be developed to detect right circular polarized light and three linearly polarized light at 0, 45, and 90 degree angles, at three wavelengths in a single shot. The sensor will be integrated with a microscope that can simultaneously capture 3 phase-shift images for quantitative phase measurement or 4 images with different polarization states for quantitative polarization measurement. The fast acquisition capacity of polarization and phase imaging will allow the coupling of spectral, phase, and polarization analysis and may reveal previously unattained vital information about the dynamics in living cells, tissues, and whole organisms, leading to new discoveries not possible before. The polarization and phase imaging techniques being developed for this project also enable new applications and experiments in cancer detection, diseases diagnosis and surgery.