Two-photon laser scanning microscopy with electrowetting-based prism scanning.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Imaging
• Optical Engineering
• Microscopy

Background:

• Laser scanners are crucial for high-resolution biomedical imaging, particularly in confocal and 2-photon excitation (2PE) microscopy.
• Conventional scanning methods often rely on bulky or power-intensive adaptive optics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the use of electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) prisms as a lateral laser-scanning element in a 2PE microscope.
• To evaluate the potential of EWOD technology as a compact and low-power alternative for biomedical imaging systems.

Main Methods:

• Integration of EWOD prisms into a conventional 2PE microscope setup.
• Demonstration of 2PE microscope imaging using EWOD prism scanning on cultured mouse hippocampal neurons.
• Optical system simulations to assess the impact of EWOD prism on Gaussian beam propagation and imaging quality.

Main Results:

• Successful demonstration of 2PE microscope imaging with EWOD prism scanning, achieving a field of view (FOV) of 130 × 130 μm².
• Simulations provided insights into optical system performance, guiding the selection of beam size (0.91 mm FWHM) for experiments.
• The system achieved a numerical aperture of 0.17 for the imaging system.

Conclusions:

• EWOD prisms represent a novel and effective lateral laser-scanning element for 2PE microscopy.
• EWOD technology offers a promising transmissive, low-power, and compact alternative to existing scanning methods in advanced imaging.
• This work pioneers the use of EWOD prisms in 2PE microscopy, opening avenues for future developments in biomedical imaging systems.