Boston Chapter of the IEEE Photonics Society

Abstract:  Fast, volumetric imaging over large scales has been a long-standing challenge in biological microscopy. Camera-based microscopes are typically hampered by the problem of out-of-focus background which undermines image contrast. This background must be reduced, or eliminated, to achieve volumetric imaging. Alternatively, scanning techniques such as confocal and multiphoton microscopy can provide high contrast and high speed, but their generalization to volumetric imaging requires an axial scanning mechanism, which, in general, drastically reduces speed. I will describe a variety of strategies we have developed to enable fast, high-contrast, volumetric imaging over large length scales. These strategies include targeted-illumination widefield microscopy, multi-z confocal microscopy and reverberation multiphoton microscopy. I will discuss the principles of these strategies and present experimental validations.

Biography:  Jerome Mertz received an AB in physics from Princeton University in 1984, and a PhD in quantum optics from UC Santa Barbara and the University of Paris VI in 1991. Following postdoctoral studies at the University of Konstanz and at Cornell University, he became a CNRS research director at the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielle in Paris. He is currently a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. His interests are in the development and applications of novel optical microscopy techniques for biological imaging. He is also author of a textbook entitled Introduction to Optical Microscopy, 2nd ed.

Location:  MIT Lincoln Laboratory Forbes Road