Microphotonic needle for minimally invasive endoscopic imaging with sub-cellular resolution

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Microfabrication
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Ultra-compact micro-optical elements are crucial for advanced endoscopic instruments and miniaturized microscopes.
• Current manufacturing limits instrument size, hindering minimally invasive procedures and sub-cellular resolution.
• Achieving histologic-level diagnostic accuracy non-invasively requires overcoming these size limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel platform for fabricating ultra-compact micro-optical elements.
• To overcome the size limitations of current optical element manufacturing technologies.
• To enable single-cell resolution imaging for minimally invasive diagnostic tools.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a platform based on planar microfabrication and soft lithography.
• Fabricated micro-optical probes with a cross-section as small as 100 microns.
• Demonstrated the ability to resolve lithographic features down to 2 micrometers.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated ultra-compact micro-optical elements using the developed platform.
• Achieved resolutions capable of distinguishing features as small as 2 micrometers.
• Demonstrated in-situ imaging of individual activated neural cells in brain slices.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfabrication platform overcomes current limitations in producing ultra-compact optical elements.
• This technology enables single-cell resolution, paving the way for advanced minimally invasive diagnostic instruments.
• The fabricated probes show potential for real-time, high-resolution tissue analysis and neural activity imaging.