Biomedical Optics: Looking Inside Things by Shooting Lasers at Them

While basic microscopes can view the surface of an object in great detail, we are developing a multiphoton microscope for imaging beneath the surface without making an incision. This type of microscope works by firing a laser... [ view full abstract ]

While basic microscopes can view the surface of an object in great detail, we are developing a multiphoton microscope for imaging beneath the surface without making an incision. This type of microscope works by firing a laser at a location in a sample and recording how much it lights up. By scanning the laser to different locations, we can create 3D images piece by piece. This method allows us to fill a niche in imaging between MRIs and Electron Microscopes, allowing us to distinguish individual cells down to a moderate depth in our sample. Additionally, I will introduce a new type of multiphoton microscope that the Biomedical Optics Lab is developing called a Temporal Focusing Microscope, which will offer improvements in both versatility and imaging speed. I will discuss the work that I have done on this project involving modifying and measuring of our ultrafast laser pulses.