Terahertz Near-Field Imaging Experiments of Sperm Cell Tails

We have developed a terahertz scattering type scanning near-field optical microscope (THz s-SNOM), which enables imaging of the mid-segment region of the sperm tail. Test results showed that the overall morphology of the surface of the sperm tail as well as information about further internal regions of the sperm tail (e.g., axoneme running through the sperm tail, ring structure, etc.) can be clearly observed. This also lays the foundation for the acquisition of internal information for biological cellular experiments based on terahertz imaging systems, enriching the applications of terahertz medical imaging.