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

ERI：RUI：通过灵活的多芯光纤束进行波前整形，用于神经光子学中的相干光聚焦和成像

• 批准号: 2302023
• 负责人: Joshua Brake
• 金额: $ 17.39万
• 依托单位: Harvey Mudd College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-06-01 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2302023&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ERI; RUI; Wavefront; shaping; through

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.

该工程研究启动（ERI）项目的目的是开发一种改进的方法，向大脑传递光线以进行成像和刺激大脑活动。光是探测大脑的强大工具，可用于监测神经元的发射或使用光遗传学直接激活神经元。光波锋形成技术可以使大脑中的更深的光穿透能力更深。但是，这些技术被阻碍了，因为将形状的光线传递到大脑很具有挑战性。该项目通过开发一种新系统来应对这一挑战，该系统利用纤维束和光波侧的形状，以可靠地向大脑传递形状的光线，即使纤维束在移动。研究的结果将为神经科学家提供新的工具，以向大脑提供形状的光，从而在研究实验室中进行更好的实验，并为将来的临床应用铺平道路。该项目的更广泛影响包括哈维·穆德（Harvey Mudd）的本科生的研究机会，在科学研究方法，光学系统设计和神经素化学方面提供了紧密整合的教育机会。此外，PI将开发新的教育资源，通过在基于Python的Jupyter笔记本中的波前塑料模拟和低成本实验室实验探索光纤和散射介质中的轻质物质相互作用的较低成本实验实验。多层纤维提供了一种吸引人的方式，可以向大脑感兴趣的区域传递光线，但由于核心依赖性相位延迟而在实际应用中充满挑战，这些延迟受到各种物理和环境因素（例如运动和温度波动）的影响。该项目将通过开发方法来解决这一挑战，以纠正多核纤维的相失真，而无需访问远端，即使在核心 - 核心相位延迟正在动态变化时，也可以灵活地将形状的波前递送到深层组织中。研究计划分为两项主要任务：（1）开发一个低稳态干涉量学系统，以测量多核算纤维的相扭曲，并表征关键绩效指标，例如时间响应和相位敏感性，以及（2）使用低连贯性干涉系统与波动式变形的相位延迟的相位延迟，以纠正型号的波段，以纠正偏移的范围。 NSF的法定使命，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估值得支持。