| Citation: | SHAN Bing-hui, ZHAO Xiu-feng, LIU Fan-yu, et al. Design of a miniature head-mounted fluorescence microscope based on gradient refractive index lenses[J]. Chinese Optics. doi: 10.3724/CO.2026-0019
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In real-time brain neural observation of freely moving animals, the miniature head-mounted fluorescence microscope is currently one of the most advanced brain science observation instruments. However, most existing miniature fluorescence microscopes, in order to meet strict size and weight constraints, have a limited field of view, making it impossible to simultaneously observe neural activity in multiple brain regions. On the other hand, a few products with a larger field of view are too heavy to be worn on small animals. This study employs lightweight, planar, and high-quality gradient refractive index lenses to reduce the microscope's weight while ensuring a large field of view. Using gradient refractive index lenses for the design of a large-field-of-view miniature fluorescence microscope, this research derives the off-axis aberration formula for oblique light incidence on gradient refractive index lenses, analyzes the refractive index distribution model and aberration correction of these lenses, and designs a miniature fluorescence microscope with a 4 mm×4 mm field of view, a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.1, and a prototype weight of only 2.89 g. The central visual field resolution is 13.9 μm, preliminarily achieving the resolution for neural cells in freely moving mice.
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