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Adaptive optics for high-resolution imaging

Nature Reviews Methods Primers volume 1, Article number: 68 (2021) Cite this article

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Abstract

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technique that corrects for optical aberrations. It was originally proposed to correct for the blurring effect of atmospheric turbulence on images in ground-based telescopes and was instrumental in the work that resulted in the Nobel prize-winning discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy. When AO is used to correct for the eye’s imperfect optics, retinal changes at the cellular level can be detected, allowing us to study the operation of the visual system and to assess ocular health in the microscopic domain. By correcting for sample-induced blur in microscopy, AO has pushed the boundaries of imaging in thick tissue specimens, such as when observing neuronal processes in the brain. In this primer, we focus on the application of AO for high-resolution imaging in astronomy, vision science and microscopy. We begin with an overview of the general principles of AO and its main components, which include methods to measure the aberrations, devices for aberration correction, and how these components are linked in operation. We present results and applications from each field along with reproducibility considerations and limitations. Finally, we discuss future directions.

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Fig. 1: The nature and effect of wavefront aberrations and how they are corrected.
Fig. 2: Modal representation of aberrations using Zernike polynomials according to the Noll notation35.
Fig. 3: Principles of the Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor and pyramid wavefront sensor.
Fig. 4: Indirect sensing schemes.
Fig. 5: Three main types of corrector.
Fig. 6: Influence functions and dynamic control.
Fig. 7: Image improvements from astronomical AO systems.
Fig. 8: AO performance on a subject with high myopia.
Fig. 9: AO in optical microscopy.
Fig. 10: AO in astronomy.
Fig. 11: Cellular-level imaging in the living human retina using different AO imaging methods.
Fig. 12: High-resolution optical microscopy with AO.

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Acknowledgements

D.T.M. and K.K. acknowledge support from the NIH grants R01 EY018339 and R01 EY029808. N.J. acknowledges support from the NIH grant U01NS103489. M.J.B., K.M.H. and R.T. acknowledge support from the European Research Council 695140.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Karen M. Hampson, Raphaël Turcotte & Martin J. Booth

  2. Tech4Health Institute, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA

    Raphaël Turcotte

  3. School of Optometry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Donald T. Miller & Kazuhiro Kurokawa

  4. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Jared R. Males

  5. Department of Physics, Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Na Ji

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  1. Karen M. Hampson
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Contributions

Introduction (M.J.B., K.M.H. and R.T.); Experimentation (M.J.B., K.M.H. and R.T.); Results (M.J.B., D.T.M., K.K., J.R.M. and N.J.); Applications (M.J.B., D.T.M., K.K., J.R.M. and N.J.); Reproducibility and data deposition (M.J.B., R.T., D.T.M., K.K., J.R.M. and N.J.); Limitations and optimizations (M.J.B., D.T.M., K.K., J.R.M. and N.J.); Outlook (M.J.B., K.M.H. and R.T.); Overview of the Primer (M.J.B.).

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin J. Booth.

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Competing interests

D.T.M. and K.K. have a patent on AO-OCT technology. Both authors stand to benefit financially from any commercialization of the technology. N.J. has two patents on AO microscopy technology. M.J.B. holds patents on adaptive optics technology and has significant interests in the companies Opsydia Ltd and Aurox Ltd. Otherwise, the authors are not aware of any affiliations, memberships, funding or financial holdings that might be perceived as affecting the objectivity of this publication. K.M.H., R.T. and J.R.M. declare no competing interests.

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Nature Reviews Methods Primers thanks V. Chambouleyron, B. Neichel and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Related links

AOmicroscopy: https://aomicroscopy.org/

GPI: http://docs.planetimager.org/pipeline/

Keck NIRC2 imager: https://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/inst/nirc2/post_observing.html

SPHERE: http://www.eso.org/sci/software/pipelines/

The Gemini Science Archive: https://archive.gemini.edu/searchform

The Keck Observatory Archive: https://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/koa/public/koa.php

The Subaru Telescope Archive System: https://stars2.naoj.hawaii.edu/stars1min.html

The ESO Science Archive Facility: http://archive.eso.org/cms.html

Supplementary information

Glossary

Optical field

Describes the distribution of light as an electrical field across space and time in terms of amplitude, phase, frequency and polarization.

Compensation

Reduction of an effect by modulation of the optical field through introducing the opposite effect.

Focusing

All rays being brought to meet at one point.

Optical path length

The length of the path followed by a light ray multiplied by the refractive index of the medium.

Pupil plane

Aperture stop location.

Collimated

All rays are parallel to each other.

Diffraction-limited

There are no aberrations present in the focus. The minimum focal diameter is limited by diffraction owing to the wave nature of light.

Focal length

The distance between a lens and where the rays meet the optical axis for incoming collimated light.

Strehl ratio

The ratio of the intensity of the peak of the aberrated point spread function (PSF) to that of the diffraction-limited PSF.

Noll convention

Mathematical description of aberrated wavefront shapes as proposed by Noll.

Lenslets

Miniature lenses usually as part of an array.

Actuators

Elements that deform the mirror.

Dynamic range

The range between the smallest and largest measurable values.

Wavelet

A mathematical function basis that is confined in both space and frequency.

Influence function

The shape of modulation produced by a device when a signal, such as voltage, is sent to one actuator or pixel.

Monochromatic polarized light

Light of a single wavelength with a structured oscillation of the electric field.

Stroke

Maximal physical distance that an adaptive element can move, which limits the optical path length of phase modulation that can be imparted.

Phase wrapping

Representation of the phase information within the range [0,2π] or [−π, π] radians by adding or subtracting multiples of 2π.

Closed-loop bandwidth

The maximum frequency fluctuation that an adaptive optics system can fully or partially correct.

Flood illumination

A traditional ophthalmoscopy modality based on flash photography in which the image of the illuminated retina is captured by an area detector.

Clathrin

100 nm-sized vesicles that are used to bring substances inside the cell.

Organelle

Specialized subunit within a cell with a specific function such as the Golgi complex, the endoplasmic reticulum or the mitochondrion.

Growth cone

Subcellular machinery used for cell migration.

Synapses

Junctions between neurons through which information flows.

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Hampson, K.M., Turcotte, R., Miller, D.T. et al. Adaptive optics for high-resolution imaging. Nat Rev Methods Primers 1, 68 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-021-00066-7

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