Confocal microscopy for producing high-resolution image control in living skin
Abstract
Our ONR-funded project aims to understand how octopus skin is able to present a highly controllable, rich diversity of color patter ns in real-time. A number of structural pigments inside of skin cells and the ability to stretch those cells via underlying muscula ture enables the octopus to mimic its surroundings. This capability would be an obvious advantage to numerous applications if this method could be controlled and applied to man-made surfaces. Our strategy is to produce a new platform that applies electrical, op tical, and/or vibrational stimulus to cultured octopus skin, observe the patterns that result, and use a machine learning algorithm to infer the rules: what kind of stimulation creates what kind of color pattern? Based on these rules, we can then learn to provi de the exact stimulation needed to produce any desired image, in effect turning the skin into a screen for controllable display o f camouflage or other images. One thing that has not been done however is to look at high magnification inside the cells. Could add itional control high resolution be enabled, if we gain insight into how sub-cellular components react to electrical stimulatio n? Here we propose to augment our project with a new piece of technology that will enable the first look at the intracellular effec ts of electrical stimulation: confocal microscopy. A confocal microscope is an advanced microscopy device that enables non-invasive imaging at considerable depth into tissue, providing imaging that is not available with standard microscopy. We propose to obtain a state-of-the-art confocal microscope with a culture chamber that will keep the skin at the right temperature and in optimal livi ng conditions, and use it during electrical stimulation to understand how the internal components of cells react during different types of stimuli. This will significantly improve our understanding of the process and advance the goal of producing high-resolutio n image control in living skin.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 22, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142112952
Entities
People
- Michael Levin
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Tufts University
- United States Navy