Grant to help develop adaptive optics systems for microscopy, neuroimaging
Imagine Optic (Orsay, France) and research partners École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles (ESPCI), École Normale Supérieure (ENS), and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) have been awarded an Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) national grant worth approximately €600,000 (over $687,000) for the development of new adaptive optics approaches targeting high-performance in vivo neuroimaging.
The InovAO project targets significant improvement of the spatiotemporal resolution of neuronal activity signals in large networks, using adaptive optics-based optical sectioning microscopy setups. In particular, innovative wavefront sensing approaches will be developed, providing simplified adaptive optics implementation and use, as well as optimal performance. Adaptive optics-based light-sheet and two-photon microscopy setups will be developed accordingly and used to record improved functional signals from individual cells in specific neural networks of mouse and Drosophila brains.
Related: Adaptive optics open a new frontier of in vivo subcellular imaging
The project gathers renowed experts in adaptive optics (Imagine Optic), high-resolution microscopy for biology (ESPCI), neuroimaging and behavioral studies of rodents (ENS Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Superieure [ENS – IBENS]), and in the study of Drosophila brains (CNRS – Neuro-PSI). The InovAO project is the first step toward industrial adaptive optics-based, easy-to-use microscopy solutions for use in neuroscience.
For more information, please visit www.imagine-optic.com.