Single multimode fibre for in vivo light-field-encoded endoscopic imaging

• Published in: Nature photonics Vol. 17; no. 8; pp. 679 - 687
• Main Authors: Wen, Zhong, Dong, Zhenyu, Deng, Qilin, Pang, Chenlei, Kaminski, Clemens F., Xu, Xiaorong, Yan, Huihui, Wang, Liqiang, Liu, Songguo, Tang, Jianbin, Chen, Wei, Liu, Xu, Yang, Qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.08.2023; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/553/2706; 639/624; 639/925/930/2735; 639/925/930/328/2238; 706/1647/1107; Animal models; Applied and Technical Physics; Bending; Biomedical materials; Bronchus; Coding; Endoscopes; Endoscopy; Frequency dependence; Image resolution; In vivo methods and tests; Optics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum Physics; Signal to noise ratio; Tracking; White light
• ISSN: 1749-4885; 1749-4893
• DOI: 10.1038/s41566-023-01240-x

Super-resolution microscopy is typically not applicable to in situ imaging through a narrow channel due to the requirement for complex optics. Although multimode fibres (MMFs) have emerged as a potential platform for cost-effective and precise endoscopic imaging, they suffer from extreme sensitivity to bending and other external conditions. Here we demonstrate imaging through a single thin MMF for in vivo light-field encoded imaging with subcellular resolution. We refer to the technique as spatial-frequency tracking adaptive beacon light-field-encoded (STABLE) endoscopy. Spatial-frequency beacon tracking provides up to 1 kHz disorder tracking frequency, thus ensuring stable imaging through long-haul MMFs under fibre bending and various operating conditions. The full-vector modulation and fluorescence emission difference are combined to enhance the imaging signal-to-noise ratio and achieve a subdiffraction resolution of 250 nm. We integrate STABLE in a white-light endoscope and demonstrate cross-scale imaging in a bronchus model and in vivo imaging in mice models. The high-resolution and resilience to observation in a minimally invasive manner paves the way to the expansion of MMF in endoscopy to the study of disease mechanisms in biomedical sciences and clinical studies. Spatial-frequency tracking adaptive beacon light-field encoded endoscopy enables imaging through a single multimode fibre under bending and twisting. In vivo imaging with subcellular resolution is demonstrated in mice models.