Jimin Wu
Rice University
jimin.wu@rice.edu
Bio
Jimin Wu is a PhD candidate at Rice University in Department of Bioengineering, co-advised by Prof. Jacob T. Robinson and Prof. Ashok Veeraraghavan. She received the B.E. degree in Optical Engineering from Wuhan University and the M.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses on leveraging co-designed optics and imaging algorithms to overcome the challenges of traditional lens-based systems. She received SPIE Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship (2023) and she is currently a Rice Future Faculty Fellow.
Areas of Research
- Bioelectrical Engineering
Miniaturized lensless microscope for mesoscopic calcium imaging in head-unrestrained non-human primates
Mesoscopic calcium imaging enables studies of cell-type specific neural activity over large sections of the cortex and over multiple cortical areas. A growing body of literature from multiple animal models suggests that this neural activity can be different when animals are free to move their bodies compared to when they are restrained. Unfortunately, existing systems for imaging calcium dynamics over large areas of the brain in non-human primates (NHPs) are large table-top devices that require researchers to restrain the animalåÕs head so that it remains under the lens of the microscope. We developed åÒBio-FlatScopeNHPåÓ – the first fluorescent imaging device which is capable of imaging mesoscale calcium activity in non-human primates that are free to move their heads. We successfully miniaturized our system by replacing lenses with an optical phase mask and computational algorithms that reconstruct images from complex sensor data. The resulting lensless microscope can fit comfortably on top of the heads of the NHPs, allowing the animals to move their heads freely while imaging. Specifically, we show images from over a ~20 mm^2 FOV in the primary visual cortex of rhesus macaques, and measure how cortical activity changes as a function of the stimulus position and orientation. Our work establishes functional mesoscopic imaging using a head-mounted lensless microscope as a powerful approach for studying neural activity in head-unrestrained NHPs. These experiments can help reveal the relationship between neural activity and behavior under more naturalistic conditions.