STIMscope: centimeter-scale all-optical imaging and patterned optogenetic manipulation at single-cell resolution

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Optical Engineering
• Biotechnology

Background:

• All-optical probing enables linking cellular observation to intervention.
• Existing platforms are complex, expensive, and have limited fields of view.
• This restricts their use in studying large neuronal populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an accessible, cost-effective all-optical platform for cellular-resolution neuroscience.
• To overcome the limitations of existing complex and expensive systems.
• To enable large-field-of-view imaging and optogenetic manipulation.

Main Methods:

• Developed the Spatiotemporal Illumination Microscope (STIMscope), a benchtop platform with tandem optics, a CMOS sensor, and a digital micromirror device.
• Integrated a GPU-based processing unit and microcontroller for hardware synchronization.
• Created the Closed-loop ready Real-time Imaging and Stimulation Pipeline (CRISPI) for accelerated processing and control.

Main Results:

• STIMscope achieves cellular-scale resolution with large fields of view (up to 14 mm × 11 mm).
• CRISPI offers low latency (91.6 ms imaging-to-stimulation loop).
• Validated in fixed brain tissue, neuronal cultures, and organotypic slices, demonstrating stimulus decoding and short-term memory dynamics.

Conclusions:

• STIMscope provides a cost-effective (<$5,000 USD) and open-source solution for all-optical neuroscience.
• It democratizes advanced neuroscience research by reducing technical barriers.
• The platform supports routine cellular-resolution experiments for a wider range of laboratories.