Multilayer fluorescence imaging on a single-pixel detector

A critical challenge for fluorescence imaging is the loss of high frequency components in the detection path. Such a loss can be related to the limited numerical aperture of the detection optics, aberrations of the lens, and tissue turbidity. In this paper, we report an imaging scheme that integrates multilayer sample modeling, ptychography-inspired recovery procedures, and lensless single-pixel detection to tackle this challenge. In the reported scheme, we directly placed a 3D sample on top of a single-pixel detector. We then used a known mask to generate speckle patterns in 3D and scanned this known mask to different positions for sample illumination. The sample was then modeled as multiple layers and the captured 1D fluorescence signals were used to recover multiple sample images along the z axis. The reported scheme may find applications in 3D fluorescence sectioning, time-resolved and spectrum-resolved imaging. It may also find applications in deep-tissue fluorescence imaging using the memory effect.