Patent Abstract:
Disclosed herein is a confocal imaging system for imaging a specimen. The system comprises a light source, a light deflector capable of positioning a beam of light produced by the light source at one of a series of predetermined points on the specimen, an addressable spatial filter capable of selectively filtering light from the specimen, and a central processing unit capable of providing selective position control to the light deflector and the addressable spatial filter.

Full Description:
SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   This material is based in part upon work supported by the Texas Advanced Research (Advanced Technology/Technology Development and Transfer) Program under Grant Nos. 004949-076 and 004949-065. 
   REFERENCE TO COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX 
   Appendix A includes a printout of a computer program entitled “registration.cpp”, “registration.h”, and “regtable.m”, which are incorporated herein by reference. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention generally relates to confocal microscopy. More particularly, the invention relates to increasing the scanning rate capability of confocal microscopes. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Confocal microscopy is a technique that allows visualization of small structures in light scattering material such as brain slices. It accomplishes this by combining point illumination with point detection. The point detection is achieved by using a pinhole in an image plane that serves to filter light from out-of-focus planes above and below the area of interest thereby creating an optical section of a relatively thick specimen. 
   The main limitation of confocal microscopes is the speed of image acquisition, since every image is reconstructed on a point-by-point basis. Typical commercial systems, which rely on relatively slow galvanometer-driven mirrors to position the point illumination, have frame rates of approximately 1 Hz. Even the fastest systems, which scan several illumination spots simultaneously, can only record at approximately 200 Hz. One way that the slower systems are used for faster recording is by only collecting data from the pixels lying on a single line, but even this line-scan technique, which sacrifices flexibility in picking sites-of-interest, only boosts the effective frame rate to approximately 400 Hz. With the majority of current systems, faster imaging time is directly related to shorter dwell times at each site-of-interest, which reduces the achievable signal-to-noise ratio. To achieve the frame rate necessary for making functional recordings at several user-selected sites-of-interest, it is beneficial to have an addressable system that can selectively visit several sites on a specimen without spending any time scanning over areas that do not contain structures of interest. 
   The use of acousto-optic deflectors (AODs) can increase the speed at which the point illumination may be positioned and allows for random access scanning at user-selected sites-of-interest. However, the use of AODs necessitates a path of light returning from the specimen that is different than the illumination path and thus prevents the use of a stationary pinhole. This in turn requires a pinhole or filter that is spatially and temporally synchronized with the scanning excitation spot. Although there are existing systems that utilize an AOD, those systems only utilize an AOD to reposition the illumination point in one dimension. The deflection of the illumination point in the second dimension is accomplished by a relatively slow galvanometer-driven mirror such as one used on typical confocal microscopes. In addition, the existing systems that utilize an AOD employ a slit in the direction that the AOD deflects the illumination point, rather than a pinhole, thereby preventing true confocal imaging. 
   There exists, therefore, a need for a confocal microscope that permits flexibility in selecting sites-of-interest with increased scanning and recording rates for observing high-speed phenomena without reducing dwell time at each site-of-interest. Furthermore, to enable accurate site selection, the same system should be able to collect full frame confocal images. 
   SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   In a preferred embodiment, the present invention comprises a random-access confocal microscope. Such a device is necessary for scanning only selected sites-of-interest in a specimen without the time requirements of scanning many sites and only using the results from the sites-of-interest. In order to achieve a faster sampling rate, it is advantageous to only scan selected sites-of-interest. Additionally, by only scanning at selected sites-of-interest, the dwell time at each site is much longer for a given frame rate than with a system that must scan the entire field. Further, such high speed scanning is necessary to observe some phenomena. One example of such phenomena is signal processing and transmission in neurons, although the present invention will have useful application in other fields involving high-speed phenomena as well. 
   The present microscope comprises a light source, a high-speed light deflector, a central processing unit (CPU), and an addressable spatial filter. The light source may be any collimated light source used for such a microscope, such as a laser. The high-speed light deflector preferably is an acousto-optic deflector (AOD); however, a spatial light modulator such as the digital micromirror device (DMD) from Texas Instruments may also be used. The AOD allows a higher proportion of the source light to be directed to the site-of-interest and thus is preferred. The AOD is connected to the CPU, such that the CPU determines where a beam of light from the light source is directed. The CPU may be any conventional processor that is capable of transmitting controlling signals to the high-speed light deflector and the addressable spatial filter. The addressable spatial filter is controlled by the CPU and is synchronized with the high-speed light deflector to allow simultaneous illumination and detection of a site-of-interest. 
   The addressable spatial filter may comprise a variety of arrangements that allow random-access detection of a point site-of-interest. The sites may be specified by a user after viewing a full frame confocal image of a specimen. The addressable spatial filter is not necessarily a physical pinhole, as commonly used on previous confocal microscopes. In one embodiment, the addressable spatial filter is comprised of a DMD and a separate photodetector (such as a photodiode or photomultiplier tube). In a second embodiment, the addressable spatial filter is comprised of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera. The DMD provides an array of microscopic mirrors that can be actuated individually, allowing actuation of only mirrors corresponding to the location of the site-of-interest. The actuation of these mirrors will direct the returning fluorescence, reflection, or transmission of light from the sites-of-interest in the focal plane to the photodetector. Alternatively, a CMOS camera is capable of reading only designated pixels corresponding to sites-of-interest. Additionally, the CMOS camera allows individual pixel readout without the time delay of conventional imaging systems such as CCD cameras. Both the DMD and CMOS embodiments camera allow high-speed random access imaging of all sites-of-interest at greater than or equal to 1 kHz. 
   In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for acquiring optical recordings. The method comprises selecting at least one site-of-interest, configuring a high-speed light deflector to illuminate the at least one site-of-interest, configuring an addressable spatial filter to record the fluorescence, reflection or transmission of light from the at least one site-of-interest, and recording the light from the at least one site-of-interest. 
   The method may further comprise sequentially selecting and illuminating a plurality of sites-of-interest. The method may still further comprise repeating the previous steps at a frequency greater than or equal to 500 Hz per frame. 
   In still another alternate embodiment, the present invention comprises optical recordings created using the previously described apparatus and method for acquiring an image. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a more detailed understanding of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying Figures, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a confocal microscope constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention utilizing a DMD as an addressable spatial filter in conjunction with a separate photodetector; 
       FIG. 1A  is a schematic diagram of a DMD with mirrors in a first angular position that reflects light away from a photodetector and a second angular position that reflects light towards a photodetector; 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a confocal microscope constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention embodiment utilizing a CMOS camera as both an addressable spatial filter and photodetector; 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of the electronic components in a first embodiment utilizing a DMD as an addressable spatial filter in conjunction with a separate photodetector; 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of the electronic components in a second embodiment utilizing a CMOS camera as both an addressable spatial filter and photodetector; 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of the optical components in a first embodiment utilizing a DMD as an addressable spatial filter in conjunction with a separate photodetector; and 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the optical components in a second embodiment utilizing a CMOS camera as both an addressable spatial filter and photodetector. 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of the optical components in a third embodiment utilizing a DMD as both a high-speed light deflector and an addressable spatial filter. 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of optical components in a third embodiment utilizing a DMD as both a high-speed light deflector and an addressable spatial filter. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , a random access high-speed confocal microscope  5  includes a laser  10  that emits a light beam  15 . Light beam  15  is rapidly redirected by an acousto-optic deflector  20 . The new position of light beam  15  is shown in  FIG. 1  as a light beam  16 , which is reflected by a beam splitter  50  (such as a dichroic mirror in the case of fluorescence) as a light beam  17  onto a specimen  30 . After light beam  16  is directed onto the specimen  30 , a light beam  25  may be fluoresced, reflected, or transmitted by the specimen  30 . The manner in which light beam  25  is produced will depend upon the composition of the specimen and any exogenous optical indicators that might be in use. Light beam  25  from the specimen  30  passes through a beam splitter  50  (such as a dichroic mirror in the case of fluorescence) and to a digital micromirror device (DMD)  60 . A central processing unit (CPU)  40  is connected to AOD  20  and sends an electronic signal  41  to control where light beam  15  from laser  10  is directed. CPU  40  also controls the angular position of individual micromirrors in DMD  60  by sending an electronic signal  45 . Light beam  25  from a site-of-interest  35  is reflected by the DMD  60  as a light beam  27  to a photodetector  70 . Site-of-interest  35  preferably lies on focal plane  34  within specimen  30 . 
   AOD  20  allows for almost instant positioning of light beam  15  emitted from light source  10  because AOD  20  does not have the inertia associated with typical galvanometer-driven mirrors used in conventional confocal microscopes. This increases the speed at which specimen  30  can be scanned for sites-of-interest  35 . The scan rate is much higher than typical confocal microscopes, because both AOD  20  and DMD  60  do not have the inertia associated with conventional mirrors and can therefore move directly from one site to the next without scanning over intervening sites. 
     FIG. 1A  illustrates schematically how DMD  60  functions as an addressable spatial filter. DMD  60  is preferably an electro-opto-mechanical chip made by Texas Instruments and consists of an array of micromirrors  201 ,  202 , and  203 . Micromirrors  201 - 203  are in a first angular position  210  unless a signal  45  is sent from CPU  40  causing one or more of the micromirrors to change to a second angular position  220 . In  FIG. 1A , micromirror  202  has been moved to angular position  220  in response to a signal  45  sent by CPU  40 . Micromirrors  201 - 203  are extremely small squares (approximately 16 μm, or 0.000016 meters per side). This allows micromirrors  201 - 203  to change from first angular position  210  to second angular position  220  very quickly (approximately 20 μs, or 0.000020 seconds). When micromirror  202  is in second angular position  220 , light beam  25  from a site-of-interest  35  on specimen  30  is reflected as a light beam  27  to photodetector  70 . In the process of focusing light beam  17  onto a site-of-interest  35  in  FIG. 1 , some light shines on areas above and below the site-of-interest  35 . These areas are illustrated as sites-of-non-interest  36  and  38  in  FIG. 1A . Micromirrors  201  and  203  remain in angular position  210  and reflect light beams  26  and  28  from sites  36  and  38  that are not of interest. In angular position  220 , micromirrors  201  and  203  reflect light beams  27  and  28  away from photodetector  70 . CPU  40  synchronizes DMD  60  and AOD  20  so that only micromirror  202  corresponding to a site-of-interest  35  illuminated by light beam  17  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) will reflect a light beam  25  to the photodetector  70 . The computer program listing appendix includes programs for synchronizing DMD  60  and AOD  20 . 
   Numerous sites-of-interest  35  may be selected and scanned sequentially while sampling all the sites-of-interest  35  at greater than or equal to 500 Hz. The sampling rate may be as low as the video rate of 20-30 Hz, but preferably it is higher, such as 3 kHz, and more preferably 4 kHz. Most preferably, the sampling rate is 25,000/n, where n is the number of sites-of-interest  35 . Thus, for 6 sites-of-interest  35 , the sampling rate is 4.167 kHz. This number is based on the demonstrated ability of the present invention to sample a site-of-interest  35  every 40 μs. Furthermore, the system is adaptive so that the number of sites studied simultaneously can be optimized to the type of signal. To study fast signals, fewer sites-of-interest  35  can be selected and to study slower signals, more sites-of-interest  35  can be simultaneously studied. 
   A second embodiment of the present invention is shown schematically in  FIG. 2 . The random access high-speed confocal microscope  7  shown in  FIG. 2  utilizes a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera  80  in place of the DMD  60  and photodetector  70  used in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 2 , laser  10  emits light beam  15 , which is rapidly re-directed by AOD  20 . The new position of light beam  15  is shown in  FIG. 2  as light beam  16 , which is reflected by beam splitter  50  as light beam  17  onto specimen  30 . Light beam  25  from a site-of-interest  35  on specimen  30  passes through beam splitter  50  and to CMOS camera  80 . As in the first embodiment, central processing unit (CPU)  40  is connected to AOD  20  and sends electronic signal  41  to control where light beam  15  from laser  10  is directed. CMOS camera  80 , which functions as an addressable spatial filter, is also connected to CPU  40 . CMOS camera  80  is synchronized with AOD  20  to allow simultaneous illumination and detection of a site-of-interest  35  on specimen  30 . Light beam  25  from specimen  30  is received by CMOS camera  80 , which is comprised of multiple pixels  85 ,  86 , and  88 . CMOS camera  80  allows for individual pixel readout without the time delay of conventional imaging systems. CPU  40  sends an electronic signal  47  to CMOS camera  80  to read only pixels corresponding to a site-of-interest  35 . Therefore, only pixel  85  that corresponds to light beam  25  from site-of-interest  35  will be read by CPU  40 . Pixels  86  and  88 , which correspond to light beams  26  and  28  from sites  36  and  38  that are not of interest, will be ignored by CMOS camera  80 . Because only pixel  85  corresponding to site-of-interest  35  is read by CMOS camera  80 , the rate at which specimen  30  may be scanned is increased. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates schematically a more detailed layout of electronic components utilized in one embodiment in which the addressable spatial filter comprises DMD  60  and a signal photodiode  71 . This configuration is merely one example of numerous variations of electronic components that may be utilized in the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In addition to CPU  40  and DMD  60 , an electronics rack  100  is shown to include several components. CPU  40  contains a parallel port  260 , a parallel port  270 , a digital input/output card  280 , an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) controller  290 , a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)  300 , and a frame grabber  310 . A video camera  320  is preferably connected to frame grabber  310 . Video camera  320  is utilized for visualization of the specimen and for rough alignment of the components, while frame grabber  310  is used to display images from video camera  320 . Electronics rack  100  preferably contains a parallel port breakout  110 , a digital input/output breakout  120 , a DMD control  130 , a trigger doubler  140 , a voltage amplifier  150 , an ADC converter  160 , a multiplexer  170 , a DAC breakout  170 , and an analog signal conditioner  190 . In addition to signal photodiode  71 , there is a reference photodiode  75 . The output of signal photodiode  71  is sent to a current-to-voltage converter  200 , while the output of reference photodetector  75  is sent to a separate current-to-voltage converter  210 . There are also two separate AODs,  240  and  250 , for deflection of the illumination beam (light beam  15  in  FIG. 1 ) in both the x- and y-axes. AOD  240  is controlled by AOD driver  220  and AOD  250  is controlled by AOD driver  230 . Finally, a stepper motor controller  330  is used for controlling the position of the focal plane  34  within the specimen  30  (both shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
   Various inputs and outputs of the components are illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Included below is a summary of the components and the functions served by each. DAC  300  is used to send addresses of the position of light beam  15  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) to AOD  240  and AOD  250 . Analog signal conditioner  190  is used to make the voltage output range of DAC breakout  180  optimally match the necessary inputs for AOD driver  220  and AOD driver  230 . Parallel port  260  sends addresses for all sites-of-interest  35  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) to DMD  60 . Digital input/output  280  controls cycling of the DAC addresses  180  and DMD  60  from one site-of-interest to the next site-of-interest and generates triggers for ADC  160 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , light beam  25  from specimen  30  is received by photodetector  70  (shown as photodiode  71  in  FIG. 3 ). In addition, noise from laser  10  is measured with reference photodetector  75 . The output signal from signal photodiode  71  passes through current-to-voltage converter  200  and the output signal from reference photodetector  75  passes through current-to-voltage converter  210 . The outputs of signal photodiode  71  and reference photodetector  75  are then amplified by voltage amplifier  150 . Multiplexer  170  (with sample and hold function capability) is then used to simultaneously sample signal photodiode  71  output and reference photodetector  75  output, which is then sent to ADC  160 . Trigger doubler  140  is used to generate two ADC  160  triggers for each given pulse. ADC  160  uses the first trigger to digitize the output from signal photodiode  71  and the second trigger to digitize the output from reference photodetector  75  and then store the results in CPU  40 . The signal photodetector output  70  can then be divided by the reference photodetector output  75  to remove the effects of noise from laser  10 . Finally, parallel port  270  sends an output to stepper motor controller  330  (used for focusing) and a reset of trigger doubler  140 . 
     FIG. 4  illustrates schematically another example of the electronic components utilized in an embodiment incorporating a CMOS camera  80  in place of DMD  60  and signal photodiode  71  (shown in  FIG. 3 ). This configuration is merely one example of numerous variations of electronic components that may be utilized in the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Because the CMOS camera  80  does not need a separate photodetector, signal photodiode  71  is eliminated, as well as current-to-voltage converter  200 . An additional difference between the components utilized in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  is that CMOS camera  80  is controlled by digital input/output  265 , instead of parallel port  260 . All other electronic components shown in  FIG. 4  (and their functions) correspond to those described in  FIG. 3 . 
     FIG. 5  illustrates a view of the optical components utilized in another embodiment of the present invention incorporating an addressable spatial filter comprising DMD  60  and signal photodiode  71 . In this figure, laser  10  emits light beam  15 . A beam aligner  350  centers light beam  15  before light beam  15  passes through beam expander  360  and AOD  240  and AOD  250 . AOD  240  and AOD  250  position light beam  15 , and light beam  16  exits AOD  240  and  250 . Beam aligner  370  then directs light beam  16  into demagnification bench  375 , which controls the range of scanning for AOD  240  and AOD  250  and the final size of light beam  17  on specimen  30 . Light beam  16  is directed to beam splitter  50 , which reflects the short wavelength light beam  16  but passes the longer wavelength light beam  25  from the specimen  30 . If the wavelengths of light beam  16  and light beam  25  are the same (such as when light beam  25  is reflected from the specimen  30  rather than fluoresced), a polarizing filter and quarter wave plate (not shown) may be used in place of the beam splitter  50  to separate illumination beam  16  from reflected beam  25 . 
   Light beam  16  is reflected by beam splitter  50  as light beam  17 , which is focused by objective lens  77  onto specimen  30 . A portion  18  of light beam  16  passes through beam splitter  50  and is used to measure fluctuations in the power output of laser  10  with reference photodiode  75 . Light beam  25  from specimen  30  is collected by objective lens  77 , passes through beam splitter  50  and is received by DMD  60 . As shown in  FIG. 1A , light beam  25  is reflected off DMD  60  as light beam  27  to photodetector  70 . In  FIG. 5 , a signal photodiode  71 , which is used to make optical recordings, is shown as one example of a photodetector  70 . In addition, a switch mirror  390  can direct light beam  27  away from signal photodiode  71  and to a video camera  320 , which can be used for visualization of specimen  30  and rough alignment of the components. Emission filters  380  ensure that only the desired wavelengths of light beam  27  are detected. 
     FIG. 6  represents a view of the optical components in an embodiment utilizing a CMOS camera  80  as both an addressable spatial filter and photodetector. In  FIG. 6 , the CMOS camera  80  has replaced DMD  60 , signal photodiode  71 , and video camera  320 . All other optical components remain identical to those found in  FIG. 5 . 
     FIG. 7  represents a view of the optical components in an embodiment utilizing a DMD  60  as both a high-speed light deflector and an addressable spatial filter. In  FIG. 7 , the AODs  240  and  250  (shown in  FIG. 5 and 6 ) have been eliminated because DMD  60  is now used to position light beam  17 , which is focused by objective lens  77  onto specimen  30 . In  FIG. 7 , laser  10  emits a light beam  15  via fiber optic cable  11 . Light beam  15  first passes through a collimator  361  and then beam expander  360 . Light beam  15  then hits a first mirror  51  and is directed to a beam splitter  52 , a third mirror  53 , and DMD  60 . A portion of the microscopic mirrors (not shown) in the DMD  60  are turned on so that some amount of the light from light beam  15  is re-directed as short-wavelength light beam  19  to the specimen  30  and a site-of-interest  35 . As best illustrated in  FIG. 8 , it should be noted that mirror  53  is not on the sane elevation as DMD  60  and specimen  30 . Therefore, light beam  19  bypasses mirror  53 . A portion  21  of light beam  19  is diverted by a beam splitter  76  and is used to measure fluctuations in the power of laser  10  with reference photodiode  75 . Light beam  25  from specimen  30  also bypasses mirror  53  and is received by DMD  60 . As shown in  FIG. 1A , light beam  25  is reflected off DMD  60  as light beam  27 . In  FIG. 7 , light beam  27  is directed downward to mirror  53  (into the plane of the paper as drawn  FIG. 8 ) and then reflected so that it passes through beam splitter  52  and to a photodetector. In  FIG. 7 , a signal photodiode  71 , which is used to make optical recordings, is shown as one example of a photodetector  70 . In addition, a switch mirror  390  can direct light beam  27  away from the signal photodiode  71  and to a video camera  320 , which can be used for visualization of the specimen and rough alignment of the components. Emission filters  380  ensure that only the desired wavelengths of light beam  27  are detected. 
     FIG. 8  represents a front view of DMD  60 , mirror  53 , and specimen  30  (as shown in  FIG. 7 ). From this view, it is clear that DMD  60  and specimen  30  are arranged so that light beams  19  and  25  bypass mirror  53  and do not pass through mirror  53 . 
   The above discussion and Figures are meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. For example, by placing the point detection components (i.e. CMOS  80  or DMD  60  and photodetector  70 ) on the side opposite the specimen  30  from the illumination beam of light  17 , the amount of light transmitted and absorbed by the specimen  30  may be observed. The present invention may also be used in aspects of high-speed imaging other than signal processing and transmission in neurons. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications. Sequential recitation of steps in the claims is not intended to require that the steps be performed sequentially, or that one step be completed before commencement of another step. 
   The present disclosure hereby incorporates by reference U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,832 (Krause), U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,008 (Horikawa), U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,226 (Houpt et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,746 (Hornbeck), U.S. Pat. No. 6,084,229 (Pace et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,125 (Goldstein) in their entirety, except to the extent they conflict with the present disclosure. 
   The present disclosure also hereby incorporates by reference, except to the extent that it conflicts with the present disclosure, the paper entitled “A High-Speed Confocal Laser-Scanning Microscope Based on Acousto-Optic Deflectors and a Digital Micromirror Device” by V. Bansal, S. Patel, P. Saggau. This paper was presented and published at the 25th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (held Sep. 17-21, 2003).

Technology Classification (CPC): 6