Fiber Optic Fluorescence Microendoscopy

HHMI investigator Mark Schnitzer recently created a miniature, 1.9-gram, fluorescence microscope to look at cells deep in the brains of living mice. The fingertip-sized device is implanted in the rodent’s skull, allowing Schnitzer to snake optical fibers into its brain and view the cells that reside there. By tagging the cells with fluorescent dyes, he can watch the neural circuitry at work and learn about the basis of learning and memory in the animals.

Weighing in at less than 2 grams, this miniature fluorescence microscope can be attached to a mouse’s head where it captures images of the brain as the animal goes about its business.
Schnitzer Lab / Stanford University

This image, recorded with a fluorescence microscope, shows the neuronal dendritic tree in the hippocampus of a mouse.
Schnitzer Lab / Stanford University