Nonlinear sound-sheet microscopy: imaging opaque organs at the capillary and cellular scale

Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy has revolutionized biology by visualizing dynamic cellular processes in three dimensions. However, light scattering in thick tissue and photobleaching of fluorescent reporters limit this method to studying thin or translucent specimens. Here we show that non-diffractive ultrasonic beams used in conjunction with a cross-amplitude modulation sequence and nonlinear acoustic reporters enable fast and volumetric imaging of targeted biological functions. We report volumetric imaging of tumor gene expression at the cm3 scale using genetically encoded gas vesicles, and localization microscopy of currently uncharted cerebral capillary networks using intravascular microbubble contrast agents. Nonlinear sound-sheet microscopy provides a [~]64x acceleration in imaging speed, [~]35x increase in imaged volume and [~]4x increase in classical imaging resolution compared to the state-of-the-art in biomolecular ultrasound.