When can we see micromotion? Experimental and theoretical analysis of the ChiSCAT scheme

TL;DR

This paper provides both experimental and theoretical insights into the ChiSCAT interferometric microscopy scheme, enhancing detection of cellular micromotion under various noise conditions and proposing improvements for robustness.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive analysis of ChiSCAT's performance with low-coherence illumination and noise modeling, advancing the understanding of micromotion detection in biological samples.

Findings

Low-coherence illumination improves robustness to vibrations

ChiSCAT performance varies with different noise models

Proposed methods enhance detection in cell motion-dominated environments

Abstract

We present an in-depth analysis of ChiSCAT, a recently introduced interferometric microscopy scheme to detect recurring micromotion events in cells. Experimentally, we demonstrate that illumination with low-coherence sources can greatly improve the robustness of the scheme to vibrations. Theoretically, we analyze the performance of ChiSCAT under various noise models, in particular photon shot noise and noise dominated by cellular motions other than the signal. We finally propose ways to improve performance, especially in a setting dominated by cell motions, and conclude with an outlook on potential future directions.