Ultrafast phase imaging of propagating current flows in myelinated axons and electromagnetic pulses in dielectrics
Abstract
Visualization of the spatiotemporal dynamics of propagation is fundamental to understanding dynamic processes ranging from action potentials to electromagnetic pulses, the two ultrafast processes in biology and physics, respectively. Here, we demonstrate differentially enhanced compressed ultrafast photography to directly visualize propagations of passive current flows at approximately 100 m/s along internodes from Xenopus laevis sciatic nerves and of electromagnetic pulses at approximately 5×107 m/s through lithium niobate. The spatiotemporal dynamics of both propagation processes are consistent with the results from computational models, demonstrating that our method can span these two extreme timescales while maintaining high phase sensitivity.
Yide Zhang
NIH K99 Postdoctoral Fellow
My research is interdisciplinary and focused on developing new types of optical imaging techniques that could advance the work of other researchers and medical personnel in a wide variety of fields. Currently, I am developing next-generation photoacoustic and ultrafast imaging techniques that can observe biological and physical phenomena that are too fast to be imaged with existing methods. The observation of the ultrafast phenomena could provide a better understanding of the fundamentals of life and physical sciences. I am also developing novel quantum imaging approaches that can investigate biological organisms with an imaging performance that cannot be achieved using classical optical imaging. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, hiking, cycling, and traveling.