Video-Rate Spontaneous Raman Imaging

We demonstrate video-rate spontaneous Raman imaging by combining lightsheet microscopy that harnesses non-diffracting Airy beams to efficiently illuminate large specimen regions with image acquisition and reconstruction at the subphoton per pixel levels. We validated these benefits by imaging a wide variety of samples, including organic materials and the metabolic activity of single living yeast cells. Overall, our method not only enables video-rate imaging rates, but also requires 1000-fold less irradiance levels than state-of-the-art coherent Raman microscopy. As such, we expect this approach will greatly accelerate the reliability and reproducibility of Raman imaging in both fundamental research and clinical applications.