深层生物组织光学技术发展及其应用(特邀)

光学技术在生物医学中扮演着越来越重要的角色,其非电离辐射、高分辨率、高对比度和对生物组织异变高度灵敏等特性使其非常适用于生物组织的研究,包括成像、传感、治疗、刺激以及控制等。然而由于光折射因子在生物组织中的分布是不均匀的,光在生物组织中的传播会受到很强的散射影响,故纯光学技术的穿透深度和空间分辨率是“鱼和熊掌不可兼得”;高分辨率光学成像应用仅限于样品浅表层,当成像深度增加时分辨率急剧下降。实现光在深层生物组织里的高分辨率成像或应用是人们期盼已久的目标。近年来,为解决这一问题,研究者提出了不同的方法,例如切换到更长的光波长以减小组织散射系数,在信号检测时将漫射光转换为散射不明显的超声信号,逆转或者预先补偿由光的多次散射所带来的相位畸变,或借助光纤等微创光学通道实现深层生物组织的高分辨率光学成像、刺激等。基于团队在深层生物组织光学相关领域多年的耕耘,从光在生物组织中的传播特性出发,梳理和总结了近年来研究人员在光-声结合和光学波前整形技术等方面展开的诸多探索,以及在生物组织操控、成像、光学计算以及人工智能等领域中的应用尝试。虽然尚有诸多不足,但随着硬件设备的更新和计算技术的发展,在不远的将来有望实现活体深层生物组织光学高分辨率应用。在这一求索过程中,新方法和新能力将不断激发新的应用灵感,为光学尤其是生物医学光子学带来全新的理念和机遇。

Long distance all-optical logic operations through a single multimode fiber empowered by wavefront shaping

Multimode fibers(MMFs)are a promising solution for high-throughput signal transmission in the time domain.However,crosstalk among different optical modes within the MMF scrambles input information and creates seemingly random speckle patterns at the output.To characterize this process,a transmission matrix(TM)can be used to relate input and output fields.Recent innovations use TMs to manipulate the output field by shaping the input wavefront for exciting advances in deep-brain imaging,neuron stimulation,quantum networks,and analog operators.However,these approaches consider input/output segments as independent,limiting their use for separate signal processing,such as logic operations.Our proposed method,which makes input/output segments as interdependent,adjusts the phase of corresponding output fields using phase bias maps superimposed on input segments.Coherent superposition enables signal logic operations through a 15-m-long MMF.In experiments,a single optical logic gate containing three basic logic functions and cascading multiple logic gates to handle binary operands is demonstrated.Bitwise operations are performed for multi-bit logic operations,and multiple optical logic gates are reconstructed simultaneously in a single logic gate with polarization multiplexing.The proposed method may open new avenues for long-range logic signal processing and transmission via MMFs.

Learning-based super-resolution interpolation for sub-Nyquist sampled laser speckles

Information retrieval from visually random optical speckle patterns is desired in many scenarios yet considered challenging.It requires accurate understanding or mapping of the multiple scattering process,or reliable capability to reverse or compensate for the scattering-induced phase distortions.In whatever situation,effective resolving and digitization of speckle patterns are necessary.Nevertheless,on some occasions,to increase the acquisition speed and/or signal-to-noise ratio(SNR),speckles captured by cameras are inevitably sampled in the sub-Nyquist domain via pixel binning(one camera pixel contains multiple speckle grains)due to finite size or limited bandwidth of photosensors.Such a down-sampling process is irreversible;it undermines the fine structures of speckle grains and hence the encoded information,preventing successful information extraction.To retrace the lost information,super-resolution interpolation for such sub-Nyquist sampled speckles is needed.In this work,a deep neural network,namely SpkSRNet,is proposed to effectively up sample speckles that are sampled below 1/10 of the Nyquist criterion to well-resolved ones that not only resemble the comprehensive morphology of original speckles(decompose multiple speckle grains from one camera pixel)but also recover the lost complex information(human face in this study)with high fidelity under normal-and low-light conditions,which is impossible with classic interpolation methods.These successful speckle super-resolution interpolation demonstrations are essentially enabled by the strong implicit correlation among speckle grains,which is non-quantifiable but could be discovered by the well-trained network.With further engineering,the proposed learning platform may benefit many scenarios that are physically inaccessible,enabling fast acquisition of speckles with sufficient SNR and opening up new avenues for seeing big and seeing clearly simultaneously in complex scenarios.

Adaptive optical focusing through perturbed scattering media with a dynamic mutation algorithm

Optical imaging through or inside scattering media, such as multimode fiber and biological tissues, has a significant impact in biomedicine yet is considered challenging due to the strong scattering nature of light. In the past decade, promising progress has been made in the field, largely benefiting from the invention of iterative optical wavefront shaping, with which deep-tissue high-resolution optical focusing and hence imaging becomes possible. Most of the reported iterative algorithms can overcome small perturbations on the noise level but fail to effectively adapt beyond the noise level, e.g., sudden strong perturbations. Reoptimizations are usually needed for significant decorrelation to the medium since these algorithms heavily rely on the optimization performance in the previous iterations. Such ineffectiveness is probably due to the absence of a metric that can gauge the deviation of the instant wavefront from the optimum compensation based on the concurrently measured optical focusing.In this study, a square rule of binary-amplitude modulation, directly relating the measured focusing performance with the error in the optimized wavefront, is theoretically proved and experimentally validated. With this simple rule, it is feasible to quantify how many pixels on the spatial light modulator incorrectly modulate the wavefront for the instant status of the medium or the whole system. As an example of application, we propose a novel algorithm, the dynamic mutation algorithm, which has high adaptability against perturbations by probing how far the optimization has gone toward the theoretically optimal performance. The diminished focus of scattered light can be effectively recovered when perturbations to the medium cause a significant drop in the focusing performance, which no existing algorithms can achieve due to their inherent strong dependence on previous optimizations. With further improvement, the square rule and the new algorithm may boost or inspire many applications, such as high-resolution optical imaging and stimulation, in instable or dynamic scattering environments.

Wavefront shaping: A versatile tool to conquer multiple scattering in multidisciplinary fields

Optical techniques offer a wide variety of applications as light-matter interactions provide extremely sensitive mechanisms to probe or treat target media.Most of these implementations rely on the usage of ballistic or quasi-ballistic photons to achieve high spatial resolution.However,the inherent scattering nature of light in biological tissues or tissue-like scattering media constitutes a critical obstacle that has restricted the penetration depth of non-scattered photons and hence limited the implementation of most optical techniques for wider applications.In addition,the components of an optical system are usually designed and manufactured for a fixed function or performance.Recent advances in wavefront shaping have demonstrated that scattering-or component-induced phase distortions can be compensated by optimizing the wavefront of the input light pattern through iteration or by conjugating the transmission matrix of the scattering medium.

Multifunctional layered black phosphorene-based nanoplatform for disease diagnosis and treatment:a review

As an outstanding two-dimensional material,black phosphorene,has attracted significant attention in the biomedicine field due to its large surface area,strong optical absorption,distinct bioactivity,excellent biocompatibility,and high biodegradability.In this review,the preparation and properties of black phosphorene are summarized first.Thereafter,black phosphorene-based multifunctional platforms employed for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases,including cancer,bone injuries,brain diseases,progressive oxidative diseases,and kidney injury,are reviewed in detail.This review provides a better understanding of the exciting properties of black phosphorene,such as its high drug-loading efficiency,photothermal conversion capability,high'O2 generation efficiency,and high electrical conductivity,as well as how these properties can be exploited in biomedicine.Finally,the research perspectives of black phosphorene are discussed.