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Press Release Detail: Thorlabs Licenses Revolutionary Multiphoton Volume Imaging Technique Newton, NJ – November 2, 2018 – Thorlabs announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) for exclusive rights to a new bessel beam-based, multiphoton volume imaging technique. The technique was originally developed at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus in the lab of Dr. Na Ji, who now resides at the University of California, Berkley. Volumetric imaging is an exciting addition to Thorlabs’ current line of innovative imaging systems, which include, among other options, configurations for holographic photostimulation, large-field-of-view multiphoton imaging, and three photon imaging. This new ultra-high speed technique relies on the non-diffractive and self-healing properties of bessel beams. These unique characteristics allow the beams to maintain a tight focus and even reform as they pass through tissue, resulting in an imaging technique with temporal resolution adequate for studying neuronal systems’ internal dynamics at cellular lateral resolution. This new technique scans large volumes of a sample simultaneously, effectively converting the traditional 2D frame rate into a 3D volume rate. Whereas previous methods have used physical movement of a focused beam inside tissue, this technique provides video-rate volumetric functional imaging of neuronal pathways and interactions in vivo. The multiphoton volume imaging technique is flexible, robust, and adaptable and will be offered as an add-on module for the Thorlabs’ Multiphoton Mesoscope and Bergamo (either 2-photon or 3-photon) imaging systems. It will also be incorporated into one of Thorlabs’ demonstrations at the upcoming 2018 Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Sam Rubin, General Manager of Thorlabs Imaging Systems, commented, “Like the commercialization of our 2-photon random access mesoscope (2p-RAM), which was developed in Karel Svoboda’s lab at Janelia Research Campus, and joint work with Michael Hausser from the University College London on Holographic Photostimulation, we seek to provide the supporting tools necessary for cutting edge research in the field of Neuroscience.” About Thorlabs: Thorlabs, a vertically integrated photonics products manufacturer, was founded in 1989 to serve the laser and electro-optics research market. As that market has spawned a multitude of technical innovations, Thorlabs has extended its core competencies in an effort to play an ever increasing role serving the Photonics Industry at the research end, as well as the industrial, life science, medical, and defense segments. The organization’s highly integrated and diverse manufacturing assets include semiconductor fabrication of Fabry-Perot, DFB, and VCSEL lasers; fiber towers for drawing both silica and fluoride glass optical fibers; MBE/MOCVD epitaxial wafer growth reactors; extensive glass and metal fabrication facilities; advanced thin film deposition capabilities; and optomechanical and optoelectronic shops.