Advanced nonlinear microscopy for deep cardiac imaging

这个博士项目的重点将是开发先进的显微镜方法，以帮助调查心脏深处的心脏传导。具体来说，学生将利用非线性显微镜和超快光子学的尖端显微镜技术来解决当前心脏深部成像的障碍。这将涉及的色散补偿脉冲压缩器的设计和实施，以及各种照明的几何形状，包括远程聚焦和时间聚焦技术在非线性显微镜采用三光子激发的荧光电压敏感染料。这将允许以前所未有的深度光学读出健康和患病兔心脏的心电活动。因此，显微镜将使我们能够测量通过心腔壁的重要部分的电波阵面传播，并量化传播特性，以阐明组织深处的心脏传导。最终目的是研究心律失常（心脏节律问题）如何在健康心脏和心肌梗死（心脏病发作）患者中出现。这项研究将对我们如何理解和最终治疗心血管疾病产生直接影响，心血管疾病是全球死亡的主要原因。

The focus of this PhD project will be to develop advanced microscopy methods to help investigate cardiac conduction deep inside the heart. Specifically, the student will leverage cutting-edge microscopy techniques for nonlinear microscopy and ultrafast photonics to solve current barriers in deep cardiac imaging. This will involve the design and implementation of a pulse compressor for dispersion compensation, and various illumination geometries including remote focusing and temporal focusing technologies in a nonlinear microscope employing three-photon excitation of a fluorescent voltage sensitive dye. This will allow for an optical read out of cardiac electric activity in healthy and diseased rabbit hearts at unprecedented depth. The microscope will therefore enable us to measure electric wavefront propagation through significant portion of the heart chamber wall and to quantify propagation characteristics to elucidate cardiac conduction deep inside the tissue. The ultimate aim is to study how arrhythmias (hearth rhythm problems) arise in healthy hearts and those affected by myocardial infarction (heart attack). This research will have direct impact on how we understand and eventually treat cardiovascular diseases which are a large cause of death worldwide.