Micro-endoscopes utilize optical fibers to obtain microscopic images deep within the body, minimizing tissue damage and eliminating the need for internal electronics or cameras. These fibers, typically Multi-Core Fibers (MCF), guide light to and from the tissue and can be as small as a few hundred microns while capturing images with a resolution of a few microns. This makes them suitable for imaging neurons and cells. However, current state-of-the-art devices have limitations: they require bulky optical elements (e.g., lenses) at their ends, provide only 2D images of the tissue, and suffer from suboptimal resolution. Existing solutions are often slow or sensitive to fiber bending, making them unsuitable for real-life applications.

We are working on the development of lensless, bend-insensitive micro-endoscopes for real-time, high-resolution 3D imaging by exploiting the advanced properties of light guided through MCFs. The guided light contains spatial, temporal, spectral, and statistical information that we measure using advanced optical and computational techniques. Our goal is to enhance various methods for a wide range of applications, from clinical procedures and biomedical investigations to in-vivo deep-tissue imaging.

Previous group works:
Badt, Noam, and Ori Katz. "Real-time holographic lensless micro-endoscopy through flexible fibers via fiber bundle distal holography." Nature Communications 13.1 (2022): 1-9.
Shekel, Noam, and Ori Katz. “Using fiber-bending-generated speckles for improved working distance and background rejection in lensless micro-endoscopy”. Opt. Lett. 45.15 (2020): , 45, 15, 4288–4291
Weiss, Uri, and Ori Katz. “Two-photon lensless micro-endoscopy with in-situ wavefront correction”. Optics Express 26.22 (2018): , 26, 22, 28808–28817.
Porat, Amir, et al. “Widefield lensless imaging through a fiber bundle via speckle correlations”. Optics express 24.15 (2016): , 24, 15, 16835–16855.