The neuroscience community is saluting the creation of a “Golden Window” for deep brain imaging by researchers at The City College of New York led by biomedical engineer Lingyan Shi. This is a first for brain imaging, said Shi, a research associate in City College’s Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers, and the biology department.

The breakthrough holds promise for the noninvasive study of the brain and breasts in greater detail than possible today.

Working with Distinguished Professor of Physics Robert R. Alfano and Adrian Rodriguez-Contreras, an assistant professor of biology, Shi’s team proved theoretically and experimentally that deep imaging of the brain is possible using light at wavelength 1600-1880nm (nanometer). This is dubbed the “Golden Window” for imaging.

In the past, near-infrared (NIR) radiation has been employed using one and two-photon fluorescence imaging at wavelengths 650–950 nm for deep brain imaging. This is known as optical window 1.

Shi, who earned a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from CCNY’s Grove School of Engineering in 2014, said the current research introduces three new optical windows in the NIR region. And she demonstrates the windows’ potential for deeper brain tissue imaging due to the reduction of scattering that causes blurring. Published by the “Journal of Biophotonics,” her study sheds light on the development of next generation of microscopy imaging technique, in which the “Golden Window” may be utilized for high resolution deeper brain imaging.

The next step in the research is in vivo imaging in mice using Golden Window wavelength light.

About The City College of New York

Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided low-cost, high-quality education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. More than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture; the School of Education; the Grove School of Engineering; the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. U.S. News, Princeton Review and Forbes all rank City College among the best colleges and universities in the United States.