Volumetric Scattering Microscopy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical optics
• Microscopy
• Biophotonics

Background:

• Optical scattering in biological tissues hinders fluorescence imaging, limiting 3D visualization.
• Current methods for imaging through scattering media are often complex or lack axial precision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a practical framework for 3D fluorescence imaging in scattering biological media.
• To overcome the limitations of existing techniques in terms of instrumental complexity and axial ambiguity.

Main Methods:

• Introduced Volumetric Scattering Microscopy (VSM), a scan-free, optical-computational approach.
• Utilized an aperture-segmented Fourier light-field configuration to capture angularly resolved speckle-encoded fluorescence.
• Employed adaptive feature-based descattering and joint sub-pupil alignment for volumetric reconstruction.

Main Results:

• Achieved high-fidelity 3D fluorescence imaging in phantoms, cell systems, ex vivo tissues, and intact Xenopus embryos.
• Demonstrated preserved spatial resolution, enhanced optical sectioning, and quantitative accuracy under strong scattering.
• Showcased robust, large-field volumetric imaging capabilities in diverse scattering environments.

Conclusions:

• VSM transforms scattered light into a structured encoding resource for 3D imaging.
• This framework simplifies 3D fluorescence imaging in complex biological systems.
• VSM provides a scalable pathway for routine volumetric imaging through scattering tissues.