Quantum mechanics

Point spread function

Phase (matter)

Contrast (vision)

Bright-field microscopy

Materials science

Microscope

Microscopy

Computer science

Phase contrast microscopy

Physics

Optics

Optical microscope

Artificial intelligence

Scanning electron microscope

Diffraction

Computer vision

Nature Biomedical Engineering

The simple and compact optics of lensless microscopes and the associated computational algorithms allow for large fields of view and the refocusing of the captured images. However, existing lensless techniques cannot accurately reconstruct the typical low-contrast images of optically dense biological tissue. Here we show that lensless imaging of tissue in vivo can be achieved via an optical phase mask designed to create a point spread function consisting of high-contrast contours with a broad spectrum of spatial frequencies. We built a prototype lensless microscope incorporating the 'contour' phase mask and used it to image calcium dynamics in the cortex of live mice (over a field of view of about 16 mm2) and in freely moving Hydra vulgaris, as well as microvasculature in the oral mucosa of volunteers. The low cost, small form factor and computational refocusing capability of in vivo lensless microscopy may open it up to clinical uses, especially for imaging difficult-to-reach areas of the body.

In vivo lensless microscopy via a phase mask generating diffraction patterns with high-contrast contours