Setup of a white light selective plane microscope to investigate microprobe insertion in a brain model

Abstract

Little can be seen during the actual, dynamic implantation of microprobes into the bulk of brain tissue, mainly due to the high absorption and scattering properties of the neuropil. Fluorescent selective plane microscopy has revolutionized biology by producing optical 3D stacks of whole tissue, without slicing. The following describes a simple adaptation of white-light selective plane microscopy to visually monitor the insertion of tungsten rods with different velocities into micro-bead charged agarose gels, a good model for brain mechanics. We report on a surprising, speed dependent penetration mechanism resembling bow wave accumulation of gel.