Novel implantable imaging system for enabling simultaneous multiplanar and multipoint analysis for fluorescence potentiometry in the visual cortex.

Techniques for fast, noninvasive measurement of neuronal excitability within a broad area will be of major importance for analyzing and understanding neuronal networks and animal behavior in neuroscience field. In this research, a novel implantable imaging system for fluorescence potentiometry was developed using a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, and its application to the analysis of cultured brain slices and the brain of a living mouse is described. A CMOS image sensor, small enough to be implanted into the brain, with light-emitting diodes and an absorbing filter was developed to enable real-time fluorescence imaging. The sensor, in conjunction with a voltage-sensitive dye, was certainly able to visualize the potential statuses of neurons and obtain physiological responses in both right and left visual cortex simultaneously by using multiple sensors for the first time. This accomplished multiplanar and multipoint measurement provides multidimensional information from different aspects. The light microsensors do not disturb the animal behavior. This implies that the imaging system can combine functional fluorescence imaging in the brain with behavioral experiments in a freely moving animal.