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

Light sheet microscopy allows rapid imaging of threedimensional 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.