Exploring unfamiliar environments requires the brain to coordinate thousands of neurons at once. Traditional neuroimaging devices force a difficult compromise: devices that resolve single neurons across a wide area generally require tethered cables or fixed animal heads, while untethered equipment sacrifices range and resolution.
The research team addressed this by building an untethered mesoscopic microscope that captures more than 8,500 individual neurons simultaneously in a single mouse. That capacity is twenty-five times greater than existing devices of the same type. The hardware uses magnetic quick-swap batteries that let researchers change power sources in two seconds.
AI designs lenses for single-cell resolution
Covering a broad cortical region requires optics that balance wide viewing areas with single-cell clarity.
To overcome those limits, the research group used artificial intelligence to design a lens system containing just four aspherical lens elements. This configuration achieves single-cell resolution between four and six micrometers across a six-millimeter viewing area. Engineers also compressed data at the sensor end to transmit million-pixel images wirelessly without adding heavy hardware.
Expanding that range typically demands heavy equipment that prevents natural animal behavior.
Naturalistic habitat experiments
Researchers tested the Airscope inside a five-square-meter natural habitat and a 32-terminal maze. The equipment allowed scientists to record neural dynamics while multiple mice explored, interacted, and navigated complex spaces without cables restricting their movement.
The development aims to advance optical brain-computer interfaces toward precise neural detection, with potential future applications stretching into immunology and oncology.
Observing individual cells during disease progression may offer new clues for treatment and prevention mechanisms.
How does the Airscope function?
How does the Airscope attach to the test subjects?
Small mice carry the one-gram wireless microscope on their heads while moving freely through naturalistic environments and interacting with other animals.
How many neurons can the device record at the same time?
A single mouse fitted with the Airscope can have over 8,500 individual neurons recorded simultaneously within its cerebral cortex.
What power source does the wireless microscope use?
The system uses magnetic quick-change batteries that allow researchers to swap power packs within two seconds to maintain continuous recording sessions.