Quantum microscope
The development project aims to build a prototype that can offers unprecedented resolution and imaging depth for in-vivo studies. The quantum microscope is based on single photon infrared detection technology developed in the Zwiller group at KTH. Our instrument relies on an innovative quantum process where entangled photons enable higher resolution. In addition, by operating at the single photon level in the infrared, we will image non-invasively living tissue deeper and with reduced photo damage. A result of this project is to make advanced quantum imaging tools available to the life sciences community with turn-key, user-friendly complete systems. Initially we will make our system available for testing to key academic groups that will demonstrate the advantages of our system in their research.
Our goal is to offer a complete, turn-key, new instrument based on a disruptive technology to research laboratories allowing imaging of in-vivo samples in the near-infrared at the single photon level, the quantum limit and making use of quantum entanglement to achieve super-resolution. Our instrument will image in the 1-2 microns wavelength range, where tissue absorption and scattering are minimal. This will allow high-quality imaging up to 3 millimeters deep in living tissues providing an unprecedented depth range. In addition, our quantum microscope will enable the development and use of new fluorescent markers emitting in the infrared that were previously not detectable and will enhance tracking capabilities of a wide range of molecules down to the single molecule level in living tissue. This new functionality includes the ability to track oxygen singlet, an important molecule that plays a major role in emerging cancer therapies as well as in biological processes, but emits only very weakly in the near infrared making its detection very challenging with current state-of-the-art detection systems.
Our new tool will provide life scientists the unprecedented ability to acquire images and data based on quantum principles. Through our collaborations with the Karolinska Institutet as well as with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg and the Fraunhofer Institute in Jena, we have identified the need for non-invasive measurements and inspections with low photodamage to inspect deeper in living tissue. Furthermore, our tool has the potential to be used for diagnostics in clinical settings, ranging from implant inspections to brain imaging.
Our instrument relies on an innovative quantum process where entangled photons are used to achieve higher resolution than is allowed by classical physics. In addition, by operating at the single photon level in the infrared, we can image non-invasively living tissue deeper and with reduced photodamage compared to existing commercial microscopes. The application of quantum technology to life sciences holds great innovation potentials: we will image brain tissue to a depth of 3 mm, far deeper than the current limit of 1 mm and fully monitor Langerhans islets implanted in the anterior chamber of the eye in collaboration with the Karolinska Insitutet. The evolution of biomedicine has been driven by advances in microscopy, our quantum microscope offers a further step to observe biological processes in greater detail.
Current optical microscopes used to image biological systems suffer from light scattering that limits imaging depth and have a resolution limited by classical optics. These limitations do not apply to quantum microscopes. Using quantum entanglement to achieve higher resolutions than allowed by classical physics and operating at the single photon level in the infrared, we operate in a frequency range where scattering is strongly reduced. Our quantum microscope brings quantum superiority to the life sciences and answers needs we have identified through discussions and collaborations.
Optical microscopes have operated on the same principle since their first invention by Leuwenhooek in Delft in the Netherlands in 1668 where the resolution is given by the objective numerical aperture. Here we introduce a new paradigm where quantum entanglement can enhance resolution beyond the classical limit. Using entangled photon pairs for illumination and single photon detectors optimized for the infrared, we realize a quantum microscope with unprecedented capacities that addresses the needs of the life science community to operate beyond the current constraints of the state-of-the-art optical microscopes.
We take advanced quantum technology approaches that have been demonstrated in physics laboratories and develop a user-friendly quantum microscope that can easily and reliably be operated in a biomedical laboratory without any knowledge in quantum physics.