COMPACT 2.0 for high-throughput mesoscopic deep brain neural imaging (Conference Presentation)

The brain is the most complex organ, and understanding its functions is crucial for medical research and artificial intelligence. Recent advancements in neurophotonics have enabled researchers to study brain activity at cellular resolution, offering insights into how neurons communicate and coordinate behaviors. However, light penetration is limited by scattering, restricting imaging to superficial regions. GRIN lens-based calcium imaging is a common method for deep brain recording but suffers from optical aberrations, reducing field of view and throughput. To address this, we developed the COMPACT technique, which drastically increases tissue access volume. COMPACT 2.0 improves upon this by offering a tenfold increase in throughput and enabling high-throughput mesoscopic cellular resolution recordings in deep brain regions. This talk will cover COMPACT 2.0’s engineering and its performance for in vivo calcium imaging.