3D resolved mapping of optical aberrations in thick tissues.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Microscopy
• Biophotonics

Background:

• Optical aberrations limit imaging depth and resolution in scattering biological tissues.
• Accurate characterization of aberrations is essential for developing effective correction strategies.
• Existing methods often lack 3D resolution or are not suitable for thick samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a simple, 3D-resolution method for mapping optical aberrations within thick biological samples.
• To analyze the impact of tissue properties on aberration formation and imaging performance.
• To provide data for optimizing aberration correction in tissue imaging.

Main Methods:

• Local measurement of image quality variations induced by externally applied aberrations.
• 3D aberration mapping in human skin biopsies and mouse brain slices.
• Analysis of signal strength and aberration amplitude effects on measurement accuracy and resolution.

Main Results:

• Successful 3D aberration mapping in diverse tissue types (skin, brain).
• Demonstrated correlation between tissue structure, refractive index distribution, and aberration levels.
• Quantified the aplanetism region size for aberration correction.
• Evaluated performance in both native and cleared tissue samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides accurate 3D aberration maps in thick tissues.
• Understanding tissue-specific aberrations is key to enhancing imaging depth and quality.
• This technique facilitates the development of efficient aberration correction strategies for advanced microscopy applications.