Abstract : Photoacoustic Tomography (PAT) combines the absorption specificity of optical imaging with the deep tissue penetration of ultrasound, enabling imaging at depths of several centimeters. This makes PAT a promising tool for neuroscience, where oxygenated hemoglobin or calcium-sensitive dyes can visualize brain activity. By bridging the gap between gold-standard multiphoton microscopy and functional MRI, PAT offers functional contrast on a brain-wide scale. In this work, I focus on developing novel calcium probes for photoacoustics in collaboration with the Deo Lab at EMBL. I characterize these probes using a custom cuvette spectroscopy setup and Fabry-Perot-based PAT in various phantoms. Additionally, I present results on in vivo labeling of the mouse brain with these probes, as well as PAT imaging experiments performed on excised brains and acute brain slices.
