Bio-CM{superscript 2}: Distributed computational optics for cortex-widecellular imaging

Hu, G.; Deng, Q.; Qi, T.; Chen, Z.; Rauscher, B. C.; Chai, N.; Bogatova, D.; Weinberg, B.; Smith, J.; Davison, I. G.; Thunemann, M.; Devor, A.; Tian, L.

doi:10.64898/2026.07.27.740823

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.07.27.740823

Bio-CM{superscript 2}: Distributed computational optics for cortex-widecellular imaging

Hu, G.·Deng, Q.·Qi, T.·Chen, Z.·Rauscher, B. C.·Chai, N.·Bogatova, D.·Weinberg, B.·Smith, J.·Davison, I. G.·Thunemann, M.·Devor, A.·Tian, L.

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Abstract

Understanding distributed biological systems, particularly neural circuits, requires simultaneous cellular-resolution imaging across millimeter-scale fields of view (FOV). Existing miniature microscopes remain fundamentally constrained by trade-offs among FOV, spatial resolution, and optical complexity, limiting their ability to bridge cellular microscopy with cortex-scale imaging. Here we introduce distributed computational optics, a framework that distributes image formation across coordinated optical modules and computationally integrates their measurements into a unified image. We realize this framework in Bio-CM2, a computational miniature mesoscope that partitions the imaging field across four optical modules while converging their measurements onto a common image sensor. This architecture overcomes the aberration-scaling limitations of conventional miniature optics while avoiding the hardware complexity of multi-camera systems and the contrast degradation associated with optical multiplexing. Bio-CM2 achieves a 7.5 x 10 mm2 FOV while enabling cellular-resolution in vivo imaging at video rates. We demonstrate its utility through two complementary imaging modalities in head-fixed mice: cortex-wide functional vascular imaging, enabling simultaneous quantification of pial arteriole vasomotion and mesoscale hemodynamic functional connectivity, and cellular-resolution calcium imaging, resolving the activity of over 3,000 neurons together with mesoscale neuronal functional connectivity. We further demonstrate the versatility of the platform through cellular-resolution imaging of entire coronal mouse brain sections, population-scale imaging of freely behaving Caenorhabditis elegans, and odor-evoked calcium imaging of the main olfactory bulb in head-fixed mice, highlighting its broad applicability across diverse biological systems and imaging modalities. By overcoming the conventional trade-off between FOV and spatial resolution in a compact miniature platform, Bio-CM2 establishes distributed computational optics as a scalable framework for multiscale biological imaging.

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Hu, G., Deng, Q., Qi, T., Chen, Z., Rauscher, B. C., Chai, N., Bogatova, D., Weinberg, B., Smith, J., Davison, I. G., Thunemann, M., Devor, A., Tian, L.. 2026-07-28. Bio-CM{superscript 2}: Distributed computational optics for cortex-widecellular imaging. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.27.740823

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