# Ultrafast high-contrast voltage imaging in freely moving animals

> **NIH NIH R34** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2022 · $655,123

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
We propose to develop a targeted illumination confocal (TICO) microscope to enable high speed,
large-scale voltage imaging in the brain. This microscope will be based on the combination of two
key strategies. The first strategy is high-speed confocal microscopy based on line scanning. The
benefit of confocal microscopy is that out-of-focus background is largely rejected by the use of slit
detection. We will supplement this background rejection with the additional strategy of targeted
illumination. In this way, we will confine our excitation light only to pre-selected regions of interests
(e.g., cell bodies or dendrites), minimizing the generation of out-of-focus background in the first
place. These strategies will be implemented with the use of a double-sided scanning mechanism
that will enable us to perform fast scanning to fully exploit the ultrafast throughput and remarkably
low noise capabilities of state-of-the-art CMOS cameras. By combining the complementary
advantages of confocal detection and targeted illumination, we expect to significantly improve the
contrast and SNR of our voltage imaging relative to the current methods based on cameras.
 Our specific aims are to build two dual-region TICO microscopes, one adapted for head-fixed
animal imaging, and the other adapted for freely moving animal imaging using a miniature
microscope objective coupled by a flexible fiber bundle. Establishing the feasibility of TICO
microscopy in freely moving animals would constitute a major breakthrough and will lay the
groundwork for future research into the relations between voltage activity and behavior in natural
conditions. The ability to image freely moving animals will be indispensable for this goal.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10445419
- **Project number:** 1R34NS127098-01
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** Jerome Mertz
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $655,123
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-03-15 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10445419

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10445419, Ultrafast high-contrast voltage imaging in freely moving animals (1R34NS127098-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10445419. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*