Aberrations and their correction in light-sheet microscopy: a low-dimensional parametrization.

Light sheet microscopy allows rapid imaging of three-dimensional fluorescent samples, using illumination and detection axes that are orthogonal. For imaging large samples, this often forces the objective to be tilted relative to the sample's surface; for samples that are not precisely matched to the immersion medium index, this tilt introduces aberrations. Here we calculate the nature of these aberrations for a simple tissue model, and show that a low-dimensional parametrization of these aberrations facilitates online correction via a deformable mirror without introduction of beads or other fiducial markers. We use this approach to demonstrate improved image quality in living tissue.