Wear-type microscopy device for imaging brain function of small active animal

Abstract

The invention discloses a wear-type microscopy device for imaging cortex of a small active animal under the waking activity state, comprising an imaging module, an illumination module and a system support base. The imaging module consists of an imaging cavity made of metal as well as an image carrying optical fibre and a gradient refractive index lens arranged inside the imaging cavity; the illumination module is an optical fibre derived compound optical source system and consists of a light source, a light source adjusting circuit, a control driving circuit and an output optical fibre; the light source consists of a semiconductor laser device (LD) and a high-power light emitting diode (LED); two drivers are controlled by a microcontroller so as to output light rays and laser with different wavelengths in a separated or mixed way; the system support base is a special metal structural body fixed on the head of the small animal to be tested and right above a target observation region, is equipped with the imaging module inside and introduces an illumination optical fibre to support the whole imaging system. The invention realizes imaging of various forms by introducing different illumination light rays.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to an optical imaging device, in particular to a microscopic device which is small in volume and light in weight and can be installed on the head of a small experimental animal to perform functional imaging of the cerebral cortex in an awake state. Background technique [0002] So far, optical imaging of brain function has been an extremely important method in the field of neuroscience research. At present, the optical imaging methods of brain function generally carried out at home and abroad include various imaging methods such as fluorescence imaging, endogenous signal imaging, near-infrared light imaging, and laser speckle imaging. Most of these imaging methods are applied to small animals that have been anesthetized and fixed on the bench. Although optical imaging systems based on anesthetized experimental small animals have been widely used and can provide a very stable platform for scientific research on brain function, in...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0009] The disadvantage is that this imaging device multiplexes an optical fiber to conduct excitation light and emission light, and a dichroic film is used at the upper end to separate excitation light and emission light, so it is only suitable for certain fluorescence imaging. If imaging with internal source signals, the illumination light The reflected light at the end face of the fiber cannot be separated from the emitted light in the observation area, resulting in a low overall signal-to-noise ratio, and laser speckle imaging is also not possible

And this device generally has a small imaging area, which is not suitable for wide-field fluorescence imaging

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