Towards high-throughput all-optical biomechanical imaging via stimulated Brillouin scattering microscopy

Brillouin microscopy has recently emerged as an all-optical, contact- and label-free technique for in vivo 3D subcellular mapping of elasticity distribution within cells and tissues [1,2]. Since spontaneous Brillouin scattering is an extremely weak process, current technologies require long acquisition times to extract the Brillouin peaks, resulting incompatible with many bioimaging applications. Here, the stimulated version of the Brillouin scattering process [3] is discussed as an approach to obtain shot-noise limited Brillouin spectra in significantly shorter acquisition times, with no need of spectral dispersive elements and with high SNR and precision. This paves the way for a high-throughput platform for mechanical signature assessment, alongside with access to additional contrast mechanisms, such as viscosity and mass density. [1] G. Scarcelli et al.,Nat Methods 12(12),1132(2015) [2] J. Zhang et al,Lab Chip 17(4),663(2017) [3] I. Remer and A. Bilenca,APL Photonics 1(6),(2016)