Broadband fiber optic photoacoustic probe for functional brain imaging

Here we report a high performance fiber-based photoacoustic microscope for brain sO2 imaging. The critical element is a fiber-optic ultrasound sensor, which translates the megahertz acoustic waves into detectable lasing frequency variations. Its working bandwidth has been extended to 40 MHz, by reducing the fiber diameter to 58 μm via chemical etching, this sensor should good result in brain sO2 imaging. The fiber-based PAM offers a new strategy to implement a head-mounted microscope to continuously monitor the brain activities of an awake, free-moving small animal.