Time-reversed magnetically controlled perturbation (TRMCP) optical focusing inside scattering media

• Published in: Scientific reports 2018-02, Vol.8 (1), p.2927-8, Article 2927
• Main Authors: Yu, Zhipeng, Huangfu, Jiangtao, Zhao, Fangyuan, Xia, Meiyun, Wu, Xi, Niu, Xufeng, Li, Deyu, Lai, Puxiang, Wang, Daifa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/624/1107; 639/766/400; Angiogenesis; Biomedical engineering; Digital cameras; Drug delivery; Engineering; Fluorescent indicators; Humanities and Social Sciences; Light; Magnetic fields; Microspheres; multidisciplinary; Photons; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Tissues; Tumors; Ultrasonic imaging
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21258-4

Manipulating and focusing light deep inside biological tissue and tissue-like complex media has been desired for long yet considered challenging. One feasible strategy is through optical wavefront engineering, where the optical scattering-induced phase distortions are time reversed or pre-compensated so that photons travel along different optical paths interfere constructively at the targeted position within a scattering medium. To define the targeted position, an internal guidestar is needed to guide or provide a feedback for wavefront engineering. It could be injected or embedded probes such as fluorescence or nonlinear microspheres, ultrasonic modulation, as well as absorption perturbation. Here we propose to use a magnetically controlled optical absorbing microsphere as the internal guidestar. Using a digital optical phase conjugation system, we obtained sharp optical focusing within scattering media through time-reversing the scattered light perturbed by the magnetic microsphere. Since the object is magnetically controlled, dynamic optical focusing is allowed with a relatively large field-of-view by scanning the magnetic field externally. Moreover, the magnetic microsphere can be packaged with an organic membrane, using biological or chemical means to serve as a carrier. Therefore, the technique may find particular applications for enhanced targeted drug delivery, and imaging and photoablation of angiogenic vessels in tumours.