title: Remote z-scanning with a macroscopic voice coil motor for fast 3D multiphoton laser scanning microscopy.
abstract: There is a high demand for 3D multiphoton imaging in neuroscience and other fields but scanning in axial direction presents technical challenges. We developed a focusing technique based on a remote movable mirror that is conjugate to the specimen plane and translated by a voice coil motor. We constructed cost-effective z-scanning modules from off-the-shelf components that can be mounted onto standard multiphoton laser scanning microscopes to extend scan patterns from 2D to 3D. Systems were designed for large objectives and provide high resolution, high speed and a large z-scan range (>300 μm). We used these systems for 3D multiphoton calcium imaging in the adult zebrafish brain and measured odor-evoked activity patterns across >1500 neurons with single-neuron resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio.
authors.affiliation: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, 4058 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, 4003 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rupprecht
authors.affiliation: Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière (ICM), 75013 Paris, France; Inserm UMRS 1127, France; CNRS UMR 7225, France; UPMC Univ Paris 06, F75005, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prendergast
authors.affiliation: Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière (ICM), 75013 Paris, France; Inserm UMRS 1127, France; CNRS UMR 7225, France; UPMC Univ Paris 06, F75005, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wyart
authors.affiliation: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, 4058 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, 4003 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Rainer W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Friedrich
keywords: (120.4880) Optomechanics; (120.5800) Scanners; (170.0170) Medical optics and biotechnology; (170.5380) Physiology; (170.5810) Scanning microscopy; (180.6900) Three-dimensional microscopy