Fully automated laser ray tracing system to measure changes in the crystalline lens GRIN profile.

Measuring the lens gradient refractive index (GRIN) accurately and reliably has proven an extremely challenging technical problem. A fully automated laser ray tracing (LRT) system was built to address this issue. The LRT system captures images of multiple laser projections before and after traversing through an ex vivo lens. These LRT images, combined with accurate measurements of the lens geometry, are used to calculate the lens GRIN profile. Mathematically, this is an ill-conditioned problem; hence, it is essential to apply biologically relevant constraints to produce a feasible solution. The lens GRIN measurements were compared with previously published data. Our GRIN retrieval algorithm produces fast and accurate measurements of the lens GRIN profile. Experiments to study the optics of physiologically perturbed lenses are the future direction of this research.

Lens internal curvature effects on age-related eye model and lens paradox.

The gradient index (GRIN) model is the most accurate way to represent the eye lens which, because of its growth mode, is a lamellar, shell-like structure. The GRIN is thought to provide optical properties that counteract age-related changes in curvature that would otherwise create an increasingly myopic eye: the so-called lens paradox. This article investigates how fine-tuning the refractive index and the internal curvatures of the lenticular indicial contours may prevent the ageing eye from becoming myopic. A system matrix approach is applied for analysis of a shell model with 200 shells to obtain the paraxial characteristics of the eye model.

Fast varifocal two-photon microendoscope for imaging neuronal activity in the deep brain.

Fluorescence microendoscopy is becoming a promising approach for deep brain imaging, but the current technology for visualizing neurons on a single focal plane limits the experimental efficiency and the pursuit of three-dimensional functional neural circuit architectures. Here we present a novel fast varifocal two-photon microendoscope system equipped with a gradient refractive index (GRIN) lens and an electrically tunable lens (ETL). This microendoscope enables quasi-simultaneous imaging of the neuronal network activity of deep brain areas at multiple focal planes separated by 85-120 µm at a fast scan rate of 7.5-15 frames per second per plane, as demonstrated in calcium imaging of the mouse dorsal CA1 hippocampus and amygdala in vivo.

Alteration in refractive index profile during accommodation based on mechanical modelling.

The lens of the eye has a gradient refractive index (GRIN). Ocular accommodation, which alters the shape of the lens in response to visual demand, causes a redistribution of the internal structure of the lens leading to a change in the GRIN profile. The nature of this redistribution and the consequence of change in the GRIN profile are not understood. A modelling approach that considers how the GRIN profile may change with accommodation needs to take into account optical and mechanical parameters and be cognisant of individual variability in the shape and size of lenses. This study models the normalised axial GRIN profile during accommodation using reduced modelling and incorporating finite element analysis to connect inhomogenous mechanical characteristics of the lens to optical performance. The results show that simulated stretching changes the length of the plateau but does not alter the cortical gradient, which supports clinical findings. There is a very small change to the accommodated and non-accommodated profiles when normalised, yet this yields measurable changes in aberrations with around 11% and almost 13% difference in spherical aberration and astigmatism respectively. The results can be used in reconstruction of the refractive index and for investigating gradual changes with age.

Minimally invasive microendoscopy system for in vivo functional imaging of deep nuclei in the mouse brain.

The ability to image neurons anywhere in the mammalian brain is a major goal of optical microscopy. Here we describe a minimally invasive microendoscopy system for studying the morphology and function of neurons at depth. Utilizing a guide cannula with an ultrathin wall, we demonstrated in vivo two-photon fluorescence imaging of deeply buried nuclei such as the striatum (2.5 mm depth), substantia nigra (4.4 mm depth) and lateral hypothalamus (5.0 mm depth) in mouse brain. We reported, for the first time, the observation of neuronal activity with subcellular resolution in the lateral hypothalamus and substantia nigra of head-fixed awake mice.

In vivo longitudinal cellular imaging of small intestine by side-view endomicroscopy.

Visualization of cellular dynamics in the gastrointestinal tract of living mouse model to investigate the pathophysiology has been a long-pursuing goal. Especially, for chronic disease such as Crohn's disease, a longitudinal observation of the luminal surface of the small intestine in the single mouse is highly desirable to investigate the complex pathogenesis in sequential time points. In this work, by utilizing a micro-GRIN lens based side-view endomicroscope integrated into a video-rate confocal microscopy system, we successfully performed minimally-invasive in vivo cellular-level visualization of various fluorescent cells and microvasculature in the small intestinal villi. Also, with a transgenic mouse universally expressing photoconvertible protein, Kaede, we demonstrated repetitive cellular-level confocal endoscopic visualization of same area in the small intestinal lumen of a single mouse, which revealed the continuous homeostatic renewal of the small intestinal epithelium.

Development of a graded index microlens based fiber optical trap and its characterization using principal component analysis.

We demonstrate a miniaturized single beam fiber optical trapping probe based on a high numerical aperture graded index (GRIN) micro-objective lens. This enables optical trapping at a distance of 200µm from the probe tip. The fiber trapping probe is characterized experimentally using power spectral density analysis and an original approach based on principal component analysis for accurate particle tracking. Its use for biomedical microscopy is demonstrated through optically mediated immunological synapse formation.

Three-photon excited fluorescence imaging of unstained tissue using a GRIN lens endoscope.

We present a compact and portable three-photon gradient index (GRIN) lens endoscope system suitable for imaging of unstained tissues, potentially deep within the body, using a GRIN lens system of 1 mm diameter and 8 cm length. The lateral and axial resolution in water is 1.0 µm and 9.5 µm, respectively. The ~200 µm diameter field of view is imaged at 2 frames/s using a fiber-based excitation source at 1040 nm. Ex vivo imaging is demonstrated with unstained mouse lung at 5.9 mW average power. These results demonstrate the feasibility of three-photon GRIN lens endoscopy for optical biopsy.

In vivo imaging of unstained tissues using long gradient index lens multiphoton endoscopic systems.

We characterize long (up to 285 mm) gradient index (GRIN) lens endoscope systems for multiphoton imaging. We fabricate a portable, rigid endoscope system suitable for imaging unstained tissues, potentially deep within the body, using a GRIN lens system of 1 mm diameter and 8 cm length. The portable device is capable of imaging a ~200 µm diameter field of view at 4 frames/s. The lateral and axial resolution in water is 0.85 µm and 7.4 µm respectively. In vivo images of unstained tissues in live, anesthetized rats using the portable device are presented. These results show great promise for GRIN endoscopy to be used clinically.

Geometry-invariant GRIN lens: iso-dispersive contours.

A dispersive model of a gradient refractive index (GRIN) lens is introduced based on the idea of iso-dispersive contours. These contours have constant Abbe number and their shape is related to iso-indicial contours of the monochromatic geometry-invariant GRIN lens (GIGL) model. The chromatic GIGL model predicts the dispersion throughout the GRIN structure by using the dispersion curves of the surface and the center of the lens. The analytical approach for paraxial ray tracing and the monochromatic aberration calculations used in the GIGL model is employed here to derive closed-form expressions for the axial and lateral color coefficients of the lens. Expressions for equivalent refractive index and the equivalent Abbe number of the homogeneous equivalent lens are also presented and new aspects of the chromatic aberration change due to aging are discussed. The key derivations and explanations of the GRIN lens optical properties are accompanied with numerical examples for the human and animal eye GRIN lenses.

In vivo and in situ cellular imaging full-field optical coherence tomography with a rigid endoscopic probe.

Full-field OCT has proved to be a powerful high-resolution cellular imaging tool for biological tissues. However the standard bulk full-field OCT setup does not match the size requirements for most in situ and in vivo imaging applications. We adapted its principle into a rigid needle-like probe using two coupled interferometers and incoherent illumination: an external processing interferometer is used for in-depth scanning, while a distal common-path interferometer at the tip of the probe collects light backscattered from the tissue. Our experimental setup achieves an axial and transversal resolution in tissue of 1.8 µm and 3.5 µm respectively, for a sensitivity of -80 dB. We present ex vivo images of human breast tissue, and in vivo images of different areas of human skin, which reveal cellular-level structures.