Team Members
Ashley Booth, Alex Lugo, Alexis Hernandez, Natasha Polito, Spencer Schmidt, Michael Seaman, Gavin St John
Abstract
By combining our strengths, passions, and economic drives, we can finalize the hedgehog concept that will underpin the design. The design hedgehog concept is to carefully develop a design that is easy to assemble, user-friendly, and long-lasting. The SPIM system is composed of an optogenetic stimulation path assembled alongside a preexisting calcium imaging path for the purpose of studying juvenile zebrafish behavior through the study of neural pathways. The optogenetic path is a simplified design with an optimized number of mirrors for lower assembly time. The system uses an acrylic imaging chamber manufactured from machined sheets and joined with biosafe acrylic cement. A soda lime glass microscope slide functions as a light-sheet window for scanning the zebrafish brain. To hold the zebrafish, a sample holder will be constructed out of the same materials to position the specimen under the newly installed imaging objective. Acrylic was selected because of its superior optical transparency compared to other plastic products, ease of machinability, and impact resistance. For the system to be used for an extended period, an OTS aerator will allow for the fish to be held comfortably in between test sessions, lowering time between test sessions by keeping the fish in a stable environment.