Conventional histopathological methods, being time-consuming and resource-intensive, leave room for improvement with label-free optical techniques. In this study, our novel metasurface-based polarimeter has been verified for imaging of unstained histological tissue blocks and benchmarked against industrially calibrated polarization measurement systems. The novel system is based on a specifically designed metamaterial grating enabling movement/rotation-free characterization of the light polarization state, ensuring reduced measurement noise in the obtained polarimetric data. The demonstrated potential suggests a transformative, affordable, and scalable standalone system, enhancing accessibility for researchers and clinicians in polarization-based biotissue imaging.
|