Josiah B. Passmore, Alfredo Rates, Jakob Schröder, Menno T. P. van Laarhoven, Vincent J. W. Hellebrekers, Henrik G. van Hoef, A. Geurts, Wendy van Straaten, Wilco Nijenhuis, Florian Berger, Carlas Smith, Ihor Smal, Lukas Kapitein
Smart microscopy is transforming biological imaging by integrating real-time analysis with adaptive acquisition to enhance imaging efficiency. Whereas many emerging implementations are event-driven and focus on on-demand data acquisition to reduce phototoxicity, we here present 'outcome-driven' microscopy, a framework combining smart microscopy with optogenetics to control cell biological processes and achieve predefined outcomes. We validate this approach using light-based control of cell migration and nucleocytoplasmic transport, demonstrating robust spatiotemporal control of cellular behaviour in single cells and in cell populations.