2009 R&D 100 Winner
Hyperspectral microscopes image hundreds of spectral wavelengths when obtaining spectral images, allowing users to observe multiple individually-fluorescing species. Microscope developers at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M., have combined this capability with 3-D confocal imaging and multivariate curve analysis software to help observers discover and quantify these species. The Hyperspectral Confocal Fluorescence Microscope System can extract quantitative image information from the hyperspectral images at diffraction-limited spatial resolutions (250 nm in X and Y and 600 nm in Z). What sets this system apart is its ability to achieve an unprecedented spectral acquisition speed: 512 spectral emission wavelengths at each voxel (3-D pixel) in the image over the spectral range from 500 nm to 800 nm at a spectral resolution of 1 nm to 3 nm and at an imaging rate of 8300 spectra/sec. This is possible with the use of an electron multiplying charge coupled device (EMCCD).
The microscope is especially useful for multiplexed 3-D imaging of live cells at diffraction-limited spatial resolutions.
Technology
Enhanced hyperspectral microscope
Developer
Sandia National Laboratories
