I-Corps: Multiplexed Brillouin Microscopy

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of multiplexed Brillouin microscopy which introduces a new microscopy modality with a contrast that is desirable, but currently unavailable. This type of microscopy has applications in ophthalmology for refractive surgery, where current screening for at-risk patients is based on late-onset morphological metrics. Beyond the primary application in ophthalmology, the technology could offer a non-invasive approach to extracting information about morphology and chemical pathways, not mechanical properties. Mechanical information requires perturbation, often destruction, of the sample, which affects the quality of required information. Widely available Brillouin instruments could help address this gap. This I-Corps project is focused on the development of Brillouin microscopy based on spectral analysis of light scattered from a sample, which allows production of high-resolution, three-dimensional maps of the longitudinal elastic modulus of materials. Brillouin spectroscopy has been widely used for material testing and environmental sensing. In the past two decades, a new type of spectrometer has improved the speed of acquisition to enable biological applications. The Brillouin technology developed in this project can be further sped up by multiplexing the readout to many points simultaneously. This multiplexed Brillouin microscopy expands the types of potential applications of the technology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.