Virtual k-Space Modulation Optical Microscopy

We report a novel superresolution microscopy approach for imaging fluorescence samples. The reported approach, termed virtual k-space modulation optical microscopy (VIKMOM), is able to improve the lateral resolution by a factor of 2, reduce the background level, improve the optical sectioning effect and correct for unknown optical aberrations. In the acquisition process of VIKMOM, we used a scanning confocal microscope setup with a 2D detector array to capture sample information at each scanned x-y position. In the recovery process of VIKMOM, we first modulated the captured data by virtual k-space coding and then employed a ptychography-inspired procedure to recover the sample information and correct for unknown optical aberrations. We demonstrated the performance of the reported approach by imaging fluorescent beads, fixed bovine pulmonary artery endothelial (BPAE) cells, and living human astrocytes (HA). As the VIKMOM approach is fully compatible with conventional confocal microscope setups, it may provide a turn-key solution for imaging biological samples with similar to 100 nm lateral resolution, in two or three dimensions, with improved optical sectioning capabilities and aberration correcting.