Objective
After spectacular advances in microscopy, a next leap is needed to enable biological studies at the deep sub-cellular scale of cells in their native multi-cellular tissue environment. Currently, it is impossible to image in 3D with isotropic resolutions below 100 nm over volumes larger than (100 micron)^3. I want to disprove the paradigm that there should always be a trade-off between resolution, imaging volume and sample longevity.
Building on my track record in super-resolution microscopy, I propose a revolutionary optical architecture where the volume is illuminated and scanned sequentially using three tilted 2D light sheets that form three mutually orthogonal planes. These light sheets are created by illumination from both sides of the sample to form interference-based light patterns with fine 200 nm scale pitch. Together with new structured illumination image reconstructions this enables a 3D fully isotropic resolution twice as good as conventional light sheet microscopy.
In a second conceptual advance, the patterned light sheets are applied in single-molecule imaging to achieve 3D isotropic enhanced localization precision at the 1 nm level, an order of magnitude better than current methods. The omni-directional illumination and imaging also enables refractive index tomography, leading to time and space-variant point spread functions. These are used in-silico in first-ever super-resolution image reconstructions that are fully adapted to volumetric sample heterogeneity.
In a final step, the tomographic refractive index data is projected to spatio-temporal aberration maps that are fed into adaptive optics for dynamic correction of sample-induced aberrations to boost super-resolution imaging of live cells over extended times.
The envisioned suite of information-optimal computational microscopy modalities, rooted in fundamental physics, not only overcomes imaging barriers but also paves the way to break open black box approaches in image reconstruction.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2628 CN Delft
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.