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Intravital microscopy using multiphoton processes is the standard tool for deep tissue imaging inside of biological specimens. Usually, near-infrared and infrared light is used to excite the sample, which enables imaging several mean free path inside a scattering tissues. Using longer wavelengths, however, increases the width of the effective multiphoton Point Spread Function (PSF). Many features inside of cells and tissues are smaller than the diffraction limit, and therefore not possible to distinguish using a large PSF. Microscopy using high refractive index microspheres has shown promise to increase the numerical aperture of an imaging system and enhance the resolution. It has been shown that microspheres can image features ~λ/7 using single photon process fluorescence. In this work, we investigate resolution enhancement for Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) and 2-photon fluorescence microscopy. We used Barium Titanate glass microspheres with diameters ∼20–30 μm and refractive index ∼1.9–2.1. We show microsphere-assisted SHG imaging in bone collagen fibers. Since bone is a very dense tissue constructed of bundles of collagen fibers, it is nontrivial to image individual fibers. We placed microspheres on a dense area of the mouse cranial bone, and achieved imaging of individual fibers. We found that microsphere assisted SHG imaging resolves features of the bone fibers that are not readily visible in conventional SHG imaging. We extended this work to 2-photon microscopy of mitochondria in mouse soleus muscle, and with the help of microsphere resolving power, we were able to trace individual mitochondrion from their ensemble. 

Near infrared and infrared multi-photon imaging through or inside bone is an emerging field that promises to help answer many biological questions that require minimally invasive intravital imaging. Neuroscience researchers especially have begun to take advantage of long wavelength imaging to overcome multiple scattering and image deep inside the brain through intact or partially intact bone. Since the murine model is used in many biological experiments, here we investigate the optical aberrations caused by mouse cranial bone, and their effects on light propagation. We previously developed a ray tracing model that uses second harmonic generation in collagen fibers of bone to estimate the refractive index structure of the sample. This technique is able to rapidly provide initial information for a closed loop adaptive optics system. However, the ray tracing method does not account for refraction or scattering. Here, we extend our work to investigate the wavefront aberrations in bone using a full electromagnetic model. We used Finite-Difference Time-Domain modeling of light propagation in refractive index bone datasets acquired with second harmonic generation imaging. In this paper we show modeled wavefront phase from different originating points across the field of view.