Fast resonant scanning two-photon scope from UCLA
Here’s an update on the scope from Joshua Trachtenberg’s team. If you want one, contact them at: info.neurolabware@gmail.com
This is another moving objective microscope, like the Sutter (Denk/MOM) scope, and the Thorlabs scope. Here’s a couple shots of objective rotation:
Although it’s not shown in these images, the objective can be configured to move in the appropriately adjusted X,Y,Z space to maintain the same focal point (like the Thorlabs scope, but unlike the Sutter scope). It’s also fully light-tight.
It’s built around a resonant scanner, and all of the output images are 5000 x 512. The live display is 1250 (4 pixels summed) x 512, but 5000 x 512 is streamed to disk. The system’s digitizer is synched to the laser pulses, and there are 5000 laser pulses per line (80 MHz * 0.0625 ms/line = 5000 pulses; 31.25 frames/s at 512 lines/frame).
The optical pathway is all 2″ optics, and is optimized for the Nikon 16x, Zeiss 20x, and Olympus/Nikon 25X objective lenses.
There’s a camera for taking a snapshot of the pia, epifluorescence imaging, or potentially intrinsic imaging.
They wrote their own software for MATLAB. Here’s the interface:
More specs
Digitizer: Alazar Technologies 9440 14bit, 125MS/s, 4 channel PCIe
Amplifiers: Femto DHPCA-100 variable gain high speed current amplifier
PMTs: Hamamatsu GaAsP
Mirrors: Cambridge 8KHz resonant and 6210H galvo
Pockels cell: Conoptics Model 302RM with BK option (automated to maintain constant laser power over scan, rectified cosine)
Camera: Dalsa M1024
Software: All native MATLAB, open source
Optics: Full 2″ collection path
Scan size: Utilizes the full field number of the Nikon 16x 0.8NA water immersion objective
Computer: Custom system for streaming the data to disk at high rate
[…] imaging code has its origins in Dario Ringach’s lab (Dario also coded the software for the Trachtenberg scope, recently highlighted on […]
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More on the microscope can be found at http://www.neurolabware.com
The neuroscience community will hopefully be treated to more similar developments on the two-photon front, where innovative labs make their systems commercially available. I’ve seen it running in a couple of labs – very impressive!