A Carolina alumna and her former research mentors are developing wearable smart glasses that could one day support new insights into mental health.

A Carolina alumna and her former research mentors are developing wearable smart glasses that could one day support new insights into mental health.

Job #AJO30961, Assistant Professor in Biology and Neuroscience Program, Biology Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, US

YouTube video by Beckman Foundation

Nature Careers

SignificanceIn vivo one-photon fluorescence imaging of calcium and voltage indicators expressed in neurons enables noninvasive recordings of neural activity with submillisecond precision. However, data acquisition speed is limited by the frame rate of cameras.AimWe developed a compressive streak fluorescence microscope to record fluorescence in individual neurons at high speeds (≥200 frames per second) exceeding the nominal frame rate of the camera by trading off spatial pixels for temporal resolution.ApproachOur microscope leverages a digital micromirror device for targeted illumination, a galvo mirror for temporal scanning, and a ridge regression algorithm for fast computational reconstruction of fluorescence traces with high temporal resolution.ResultsIn simulations, the ridge regression algorithm reconstructs traces of high temporal resolution with limited signal loss. Validation experiments with fluorescent beads and experiments in larval zebrafish demonstrate accurate reconstruction with a data compression ratio of 10 and accurate recordings of neural activity with 200- to 400-Hz sampling speeds.ConclusionsOur compressive microscopy enables new experimental capabilities to monitor activity at a sampling speed that outpaces the nominal frame rate of the camera.

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