Light sheet-based imaging device with extended depth of field

摘要

Light sheet microscope for recording 3D images of a specimen, comprising a light sheet generator, an objective lens, an image detector and a wavefront encoder element or system positioned between the objective lens and the image detector for extending the depth of field of the objective lens. By doing so, the restriction on the distance between the collecting objective and the light sheet is relaxed, allowing the use of a light sheet scanning unit. The resulting light sheet microscope allows for a robust, aberration insensitive, fast 3D imaging without the need to move or perturb the specimen.

主权项

1. A light sheet microscope for recording 3D images of a specimen, comprising:
a light sheet generator and sheet scanning unit that produces a light sheet that is scanned through the specimen, an objective lens positioned to receive the signal generated by the scanned light sheets and an image detector positioned to receive light from the objective lens, a wavefront encoder (WFE) element or system positioned between the objective lens and the image detector at an exit pupil plane or a conjugated plane of the objective lens, wherein the WFE extends the depth of field of the objective lens, and wherein the WFE is selected to generate an optical path difference resulting in a phase modulation that permits creating a 3D image from 2D images generated by scanning the light sheet with the scanning unit while the objective lens and the specimen are static.