Das Subhrajit, Senarathna Janaka, Ren Yunke, Dinh Vu, Ying Mingyao, Etienne-Cummings Ralph, Pathak Arvind P
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2025 Feb;72(2):675-688. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2024.3467221. Epub 2025 Jan 22.
Recent advances in low-power wireless-capable system-on-chips (SoCs) have accelerated diverse Internet of Things (IoT) applications, encompassing wearables, asset monitoring, and more. Concurrently, the field of neuroimaging has experienced escalating demand for lightweight, untethered, low-power systems capable of imaging in small animals. This article explores the feasibility of using a low-power asset monitoring system as the basis of a new architecture for fluorescence and hemodynamic contrast-based wireless functional imaging. The core system architecture hinges on the fusion of a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.2 SoC and a low-power 560 × 560, 8-bit monochrome CMOS image sensor module. Successful integration of a multicontrast optical front-end consisting of a fluorescence channel (FL) and an intrinsic optical signal (IOS) channel resulted in the creation of a wireless microscope called 'BLEscope'. Next, we developed a wireless (i.e., BLE) protocol to remotely operate the BLEscope via a laptop and acquire in vivo images at 1 frame per second (fps). We then conducted a comprehensive characterization of the BLEscope to assess its optical capabilities and power consumption. We report a new benchmark for continuous wireless imaging of ∼1.5 hours with a 100 mAh battery. Via the FL channel of the BLEscope, we successfully tracked the kinetics of an intravenously injected fluorescent tracer and acquired images of fluorescent brain tumor cells in vivo. Via the IOS channel, we characterized the differential response of normal and tumor-associated blood vessels to a carbogen gas inhalation challenge. When miniaturized, the BLEscope will result in a new class of low-power, implantable or wireless microscopes that could transform preclinical and clinical neuroimaging applications.
具备低功耗无线功能的片上系统（SoC）的最新进展加速了各种物联网（IoT）应用，包括可穿戴设备、资产监测等。与此同时，神经成像领域对能够在小动物体内成像的轻量级、无束缚、低功耗系统的需求不断增加。本文探讨了使用低功耗资产监测系统作为基于荧光和血流动力学对比的无线功能成像新架构基础的可行性。核心系统架构依赖于蓝牙低功耗（BLE）5.2 SoC与低功耗560×560、8位单色CMOS图像传感器模块的融合。成功集成由荧光通道（FL）和固有光信号（IOS）通道组成的多对比度光学前端，从而创建了一种名为“BLEscope”的无线显微镜。接下来，我们开发了一种无线（即BLE）协议，通过笔记本电脑远程操作BLEscope，并以每秒1帧（fps）的速度采集体内图像。然后，我们对BLEscope进行了全面表征，以评估其光学能力和功耗。我们报告了使用100 mAh电池进行约1.5小时连续无线成像的新基准。通过BLEscope的FL通道，我们成功追踪了静脉注射荧光示踪剂的动力学，并在体内获取了荧光脑肿瘤细胞的图像。通过IOS通道，我们表征了正常血管和肿瘤相关血管对吸入二氧化碳气体挑战的不同反应。当小型化时，BLEscope将产生一类新型的低功耗、可植入或无线显微镜，可能会改变临床前和临床神经成像应用。
