A talk by Kotaro Hiramatsu (Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry Professor in Kyushu University)

Modern bioimaging increasingly requires complementary contrast mechanisms that can connect molecular composition, cellular states, and tissue-level function. In this talk, I will introduce recent activities in our Photo Physical Chemistry Laboratory at Kyushu University[1], focusing on the development of optical and spectroscopic methods for interdisciplinary bioimaging.

The first part will discuss our recent work on broadband electronic-resonance coherent anti-Stokes/Stokes Raman scattering microscopy[2]. By combining coherent Raman scattering, electronic resonance enhancement, and broadband spectral detection, this approach enables sensitive and chemically informative imaging of biological samples, including cells and brain tissues. I will particularly discuss our interest in visualizing molecular signatures in the brain and the possible extension of this approach toward in vivo Raman-based readouts.

The second part will introduce our recent efforts at the interface of optics and artificial intelligence, including all-optical classification of biomedical cell images using diffractive optical systems[3]. These studies aim to explore how optical systems can transform complex imaging or spectroscopic data into compact, interpretable signals for high-throughput biological analysis.

Through these examples, I hope to discuss possible future collaborations between molecular spectroscopy, optical neuroimaging, and computational imaging.

1. https://www.scc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/PhotoPhysChem/
2. “Broadband electronic resonance coherent anti-Stokes/Stokes Raman scattering microscopy”, Y. Murakami, …, and K. Hiramatsu, Science Advances, in press (2026).
3. “All-optical classification of real biomedical cell images using a diffractive neural network: a simulation study”, N. Sagami, Y. Weng, C. Lei, R. Oketani, and K. Hiramatsu, Optics Letters, 51, 1951 (2026)

If you want to speak with Kotaro, please contact bkuhn@oist.jp