You can now get more from your current wildfield microscope by upgrading to the most up-to-date, confocal technology. Microscopy is a continuously evolving field. Innovations in detectors as well as optical systems, can help you see more and achieve better results. With our technology, you can make use of your widefield microscope while improving your imaging to high resolution with high speed and low phototoxicity. In this blog, we tell you more about how to upgrade your widefield microscope.
Prep your widefield microscope
Before you upgrade, be sure your equipment is well maintained. Check for deteriorated filters inside your filter slider, wheel or filter cubes. You can inspect by eye to see if there is still a homogenous coating in your widefield microscope. For a full inspection of your widefield microscope, ask a service engineer for a complete check-up. Renewing filters with more appropriate band passes can also improve your signal during imaging.
Once you know your widefield microscope is in its optimal condition, there are a number of ways you can optimize your widefield microscope. For every research application there are certain features you can adjust to better fit your needs. Let’s look at the ways you can expand the abilities of your widefield microscope:
Increase sensitivity and SNR by changing your camera detector
New scientific high-performance cameras have several upsides for your widefield microscope:
- high QE efficiencies, reached by more sensitive sensors
- lower noise, due to a better-regulated cooling system that decreases the number of hot pixels in the image (grainy image)
- Flexibility with the field of view
- Increase the spectral range. Newer detectors can come with specific coatings that will allow capture of signals at both UV and NIR wavelengths.
- Adaptable signal ranges. The newest scientific cameras allow you to control the range of signal detected which helps avoiding over saturated images or loosing low signal ranges.
Increase resolution and sectioning power by upgrading your widefield microscope
A widefield microscope will, as its name indicates, allow the entry of all emitted light from the sample and not only on the focus area. Confocal systems are perfect for avoiding this unwanted background signal by the use of a pinhole. The pinhole will allow only emitted light from the focus area to enter the detector. This capability will also allow you to image your sample by sections (focus areas) which can, later on, be used to do 3d reconstructions of your sample. Our Solutions are both confocal technologies that will allow you to image your sample at high resolution and sectioning power.
Our upgrade formula:
Our systems are easy to adapt to your widefield microscope setup!
- Upright microscopes
- Inverted microscopes, right and left port
- Integrates easily to a widefield microscope with environment control chambers and other add-ons
FLEXIBILITY
Our systems are tested with a variety of configurations, detectors, laser combiners, widefield microscopes and software packages. Let us know your configuration, and we will check it for you! Plan a demo to experience the benefits of our technology.