University of Colorado

Sorbonne Université

Rafael Piestun

Sean Quirin

Antonio Miguel Caravaca-Aguirre

Omer Tzang

Anthony Barsic

William E Moerner

Kelvin Wagner

Haiyan Wang

Julie S Biteen

Kristina Irsch

Simon Labouesse

Ginni Grover

Donald Conkey

Sri Rama Prasanna Pavani

Michael A Thompson

Jacob D Dove

Todd William Murray

Adam Douglas Greengard

Carol Jean Cogswell

Sylvain Gigan

Markus B Raschke

Anurag Agrawal

Yoav Y Schechner

Wyatt Mohrman

Hengyi Ju

Eyal Niv

Eric Muller

Samuel Johnson

Systems, methods and software for scanning an ocular structure of an eye are provided. A method includes projecting a light onto the ocular structure, and scanning, by natural movements of the living eye, the light in a region of the living eye. Applicable ocular structures can include an ocular surface, a cornea, a sclera, an iris, a crystalline lens, an ocular fundus, a retina, a choroid, and a vitreous humor. A system includes a light source to create light, and optics to focus the light from the light source onto the ocular structure and to collect secondary light coming from the eye towards a detector. The system also includes a tracking system to register positions of the eye at different times, and a computer system to receive signals coupled from the tracking system representative of eye positions at different times and associate the signals with the tracking position.

Systems and methods to probe ocular structures

Systems and methods are provided for imaging and characterizing objects including the eye using non-uniform or speckle illumination patterns. According to the present technology, a method for characterizing at least a portion of an object may include generating, using at least one light source, one or multiple non-uniform illumination patterns on an object. The method may also include detecting, using a detector, backscattered light from the object in response to the generating. The method may further include extracting, using the detector, data representative of the backscattered light. The method may also include processing, using a processing unit, the data representative of the backscattered light to create one or more images of at least a portion of the object.

Systems and methods for imaging and characterizing objects including the eye using non-uniform or speckle illumination patterns

Controlling the propagation and interaction of light in complex media has sparked major interest. Unfortunately, spatial light modulation devices suffer from limited speed precluding real-time applications (e.g., imaging in live tissue). To address this problem, various embodiments use a phase-control technique to characterize complex media based on use of fast 1D spatial modulators and 1D-to-2D transformation performed by the same medium being analyzed. Some embodiments use a micro-electro-mechanical grating light valve (GLV) with 1088 degrees of freedom modulated at 350 KHz, enabling unprecedented high-speed wavefront measurements. Some embodiments continuously measure the transmission matrix, calculate the optimal wavefront and project a focus through various dynamic scattering samples in real-time, (e.g., within 2.4 ms per cycle). As such, some embodiments improve, by more than an order of magnitude, prior wavefront shaping modulation speed and open new opportunities for optical processing using 1D-to-2D transformations.

Wavefront shaping with a 1D spatial light modulator

Infrared (IR) vibrational scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) has advanced to become a powerful nanoimaging and spectroscopy technique with applications ranging from biological to quantum materials. However, full spatiospectral s-SNOM continues to be challenged by long measurement times and drift during the acquisition of large associated datasets. Various embodiments provide for a novel approach of computational spatiospectral s-SNOM by transforming the basis from the stationary frame into the rotating frame of the IR carrier frequency. Some embodiments see acceleration of IR s-SNOM data collection by a factor of 10 or more in combination with prior knowledge of the electronic or vibrational resonances to be probed, the IR source excitation spectrum, and other general sample characteristics.

Methods and systems for scanning probe sample property measurement and imaging

Recent remarkable progress in wave-front shaping has enabled control of light propagation inside linear media to focus and image through scattering objects. In particular, light propagation in multimode fibers comprises complex intermodal interactions and rich spatiotemporal dynamics. Control of physical phenomena in multimode fibers and its applications is in its infancy, opening opportunities to take advantage of complex mode interactions. Various embodiments of the present technology provide wave-front shaping for controlling nonlinear phenomena in multimode fibers. Using a spatial light modulator at the fiber's input and a genetic algorithm optimization, some embodiments control a highly nonlinear stimulated Raman scattering cascade and its interplay with four wave mixing via a flexible implicit control on the superposition of modes that are coupled into the fiber.

Methods and systems for control of nonlinear light transmission

Systems and methods for azimuthal multiplexing using three-dimensional diffractive optics An azimuthal optical multiplexing system includes a light source. The system includes two or more at least partially transparent plates. Each plate of the two or more plates has a structured or patterned surface positioned in an optical path of the light source. The system includes means for rotating at least one plate of the two or more plates axially with respect to at least one other plate of the two or more plates. The means for rotating is operatively coupled to the at least one plate. The structured or patterned surface is configured to modulate light directed along the optical path and through the two or more plates.

Systems and methods for azimuthal multiplexing three-dimensional diffractive optics

Various embodiments provide for the implementation of volumetric diffractive optics equivalent functionality via cascaded planar elements. To illustrate the principle, a design 3D diffractive optics and implement a two-layer continuous phase-only design on a single spatial light modulator (SLM) with a folded system. The system provides dynamic and efficient multiplexing capability. Numerical and experimental results show this approach improves system performance such as diffraction efficiency, spatial/spectral selectivity, and number of multiplexing functions relative to 2D devices while providing dynamic large space-bandwidth relative to current static volume diffractive optics. The limitations and capabilities of dynamic 3D diffractive optics are discussed.

3D diffractive optics

Imaging or measurement methods and systems including methods and systems for finding the three-dimensional orientation and position of multiple dipole-like particles and single molecules, methods and systems for generating helical beams and helical spread functions, and methods and systems for super-resolution and super-localization of dense arrays of emitters.

Imaging or measurement methods and systems

Systems, methods, and computer program products are disclosed to localize and/or image a dense array of particles. In some embodiments, a plurality of particles may be imaged using an imaging device. A plurality of point spread function dictionary coefficients of the image may be estimated using a point spread function dictionary; where the point spread function dictionary can include a plurality of spread function responses corresponding to different particle positions. From the point spread function dictionary coefficients the number of particles in the image can be determined. Moreover location of each particle in the image can be determined from the point spread function dictionary coefficients.

3-D localization and imaging of dense arrays of particles

An example multimode fiber endoscope may include an elongated body having a proximal end and a distal end; a multimode fiber disposed within the elongated body and extending from the proximal end to the distal end of the elongated body; a light source disposed relative to the proximal end of the elongated body; a light detector disposed relative to the proximal end of the elongated body; and multiple optical elements disposed between the light source and the multimode fiber. One or more of the optical elements are configured to direct light from the light source into the multimode fiber. One or more of the optical elements are configured to direct light from the multimode fiber to the detector. In some embodiments, the multimode fiber may be a single multimode fiber.

Single multimode fiber endoscope

Some embodiments of the invention include a system comprising a positioning device configured to a hold a sample and adjust a position of a sample in response to receiving a drift compensation signal; a first light source disposed to transilluminate the sample; a second light source disposed to epi-illuminate the sample; an optical system configured to receive light from the sample and generate a three-dimensional point spread function from the light from the sample; an image sensor disposed relative to the optical system that produces an image from the light collected from the sample via the optical system; and logic electrically coupled with the image detector and the positioning device, the logic configured to determine one or more drift compensation values from images imaged by the image detector, and configured to send one or more drift compensation signals to the positioning device.

Method and/or system for stabilization, tracking, and/or control of microscopic systems

Systems and methods are disclosed to enhance three-dimensional photoacoustic imaging behind, through, or inside a scattering material. Some embodiments can increase the optical fluence in an ultrasound transducer focus and/or enhance the optical intensity using wavefront shaping before the scatterer. The photoacoustic signal induced by an object placed behind the scattering medium can serve as feedback to optimize the wavefront, enabling one order of magnitude enhancement of the photoacoustic amplitude. Using the enhanced optical intensity, the object can be scanned in two dimensions and/or a spot can be scanned by re-optimizing the wavefront before post-processing of the data to reconstruct the image. The temporal photoacoustic signal provides information to reconstruct the third-dimensional information.

Imaging through scattering media with high signal to noise ratio and resolution

Imaging systems and imaging methods are disclosed to estimate a three-dimensional position of an object at a scene and/or generate a three-dimensional image of the scene. The imaging system may include, for example, one or many light sources; an optical system configured to direct light from the one or more light sources into a pattern onto the scene; a mask; a detector array disposed to receive light from the scene through the mask; and at least one processor communicatively coupled with the detector and configured to estimate a depth of a particle within the scene.

3D imaging, ranging, and/or tracking using active illumination and point spread function engineering

Embodiments of the present invention can resolve molecules beyond the optical diffraction limit in three dimensions. A double-helix point spread function can be used to in conjunction with a microscope to provide dual-lobed images of a molecule. Based on the rotation of the dual-lobed image, the axial position of the molecule can be estimated or determined. In some embodiments, the angular rotation of the dual-lobed imaged can be determined using a centroid fit calculation or by finding the midpoints of the centers of the two lobes. Regardless of the technique, the correspondence between the rotation and axial position can be utilized. A double-helix point spread function can also be used to determine the lateral positions of molecules and hence their three-dimensional location.

Growing community of inventors

Boulder, CO, United States of America

Rafael Piestun