While laboratory instrumentation continues to make extensive technological
strides, few gains have been made in the ear doctor’s office,
where accurate patient diagnosis is the key.
To assist physicians with their diagnosis, Welch Allyn, Skaneateles
Falls, NY, has developed the Welch Allyn MacroView Otoscope.
The unit is able to provide a larger, clearer, sharper view in
a convenient package similar to a conventional otoscope. With its
7.2mm field of view, practitioners will be able to see greater detail
of the vasculature system and bony ear landmarks with minimal or
no panning required.
In general, the practitioner will use the eyepiece at the back
of the instrument, using a focusing mechanism to compensate for
the patients’ corrective error.
Underground Mapping
One of the major goals of any geological survey is the ability to
remotely detect oil, ores and other natural resources with minimally
invasive techniques.
The Drill String Radar (DSR) developed at Stolar
Research Corp., Raton, NM, is an instrument used for advanced geographical
tomographic imaging of underground structures such as coal seems,
ore bodies, and voids (tunnels).
The DSR sends radio and microwaves into the earth from a drill string
(vertical drill rods, horizontal directional drill rods, etc.) which
also have a receiver attached to it. Having a sensing device on
the drill string provides sensitivity to nearby structures and geological
layering which can be used for detection, mapping, and navigation
though unknown strata.
The DSR can be directly applied to the following applications:
1)exploration drilling
2)coal bed methane drilling
3)oil and gas reservoir drilling and
4)dewatering and monitoring well drilling.
Additionally, it can be used to confirm the location of old mining
works and confirm the integrity of barrier pillars.
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy techniques
have enabled researchers to detect single molecule events, protein
tracking and other cell dynamics in biological media. In the forefront
of this technology, Nikon Instruments Inc., Melville, NY, has developed
the White Light TIRF Micro-scopy Illumination system (W-TIRF
Illumination system), which when used together with the
company’s new 1.49 NA TIRF objectives, provide the capability
of evanescent wave, oblique variable angle, and standard wide-field
epi-fluorescence illumination.
Moreover, when combined with Nikon’s TE2000 inverted microscope,
the W-TIRF Illuminations system can provide a 30-fold increase in
the signal to noise ratio and allow for a 160 degree potential cone
of sample illumination. The W-TIRF illumination system will allow
imaging of biological specimens down to the single-molecule level
with high background rejection and vastly improved light-gathering
capability.
Single-Ion Microscopy techniques are gaining ground in applications
ranging from integrated circuit (IC) characterization to biological
studies. Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque,
NM, and Quantar Technology Inc., Santa Cruz, Calif., have recently
extended the capabilities of single-ion microscopy with their invention,
the Ion Photon Emission Microscope (IPEM).
The IPEM can perform single-ion nuclear microscopy without the
need for focusing the ion beam. Using MeV energy ions from an accelerator
or radioactive source, IPEM is capable of mapping charge collection
and other single-ion induced effects, such as logic upsets, in semiconductor
and/or micro-electronic devices at less than 10 micron resolution.
Since the full-field microscope utilizes light produced by the ions,
IPEM can be performed in air or in vacuum. This added flexibility
can prove invaluable for studies involving in-vivo analysis of ion-effects
in single cells.
Automated Image Correction
Spherical aberrations in various images tend to be difficult to
correct for, especially at various imaging depths. Researchers from
Infinity Photo-Optical Company, Boulder, Colo., and Intelligent
Imaging Innovations, Denver, Colo., have developed the MID/SAC
(Motorized InFocus Device/Spherical Aberration Correction) which
allows a sample to be imaged free of spherical aberration and fluorescent
haze at various z-depths.
In most cases, microscope objectives will specify the sample thickness
in image studies to be used to avoid any distortions, however, the
MID/SAC combines a unique optical system in conjunction with a unique
software program to seek the correct spherical aberration correction,
regardless the objective, at successive z-depths. The MID/SAC is
particularly useful for three-dimensional fluorescence microscopy
and can easily benefit other three-dimensional imaging techniques
such as wide-field deconvolution microscopy, confocal microscopy,
and multi-photon microscopy.
High-speed imaging allows scientists to acquire images in four-dimensions,
the fourth being in time. Developed jointly by researchers from
Carl Zeiss, MicroImaging Inc., Thornwood, NY, and Carl Zeiss, Advanced
Imaging Microscopy, Jena, Germany, the LSM 5 LIVE Laser Scanning
Fluorescence Microscope achieves the unique combination of speed,
resolution and sensitivity to allow the observation and analysis
of fundamental mechanisms at work in living cells, tissue, and even
whole organisms.
The LSM 5 LIVE distinguishes itself from other confocal systems
with the use of an extremely efficient beam splitting mirror (>90%)
that works independent of excitation or emission wavelength, allowing
for the observation of weakly emitting fluorescent specimens. Moreover,
the LSM 5 LIVE can take 512 x 512 pixel images at 120 frames per
second.
While the device is intended for the study of living cells and
the dynamics of complex and simultaneous interactions between multiple
cellular structures, it can also be used to analyze the dynamics
of nano-structures in material sciences.
>>More info: www.zeiss.com
Multi-Spectra In-Vivo Imaging
Non-invasive, in-vivo imaging has undergone huge advancements over
the past years. Following that trend is the Maestro In-Vivo Imaging
System, developed by Cambridge Research and Instrumentation, Inc.,
Woburn, Mass.
The Maestro is a fluorescence based in-vivo imaging system which
dramatically improves measurement sensitivity by using multi-spectral
imaging technology. The system is primarily used for imaging fluorescently
labeled animal modes of disease. In can detect multiple fluorophores
in a single animal, as well as removing autofluorescence, thereby
increasing the signal to noise ratio for the labeled targets.
This type of in-vivo imaging is an effective tool for assessing
tumor progression, detecting physiological and pathological processes,
and monitoring the physiological effects of external agents. This
system can be effectively applied towards detection and imaging
of anti-body based assays, molecular targeting agents, fluorescent
drug pharmacokinetics, angiogenesis markers, and pH and ion-sensors.
Microscopy techniques that focus on capturing large area images at
high-resolution have proven difficult in terms of image acquisition
speeds.
The solution may lie in imaging with arrays. Researchers from DMetrix
Inc., Tucson, Ariz., have developed the DX-40 Array Microscope,
a digital microscope system that utilizes an array of 80 miniature
microscope objectives, which in turn, will allow the system to acquire
slide images at high-speed and high-resolution.
The DX-40 captures a 30K by 30K pixel, 24-Bit color image in just
58 seconds. There is no pause between the end of scanning and the
availability of the image for viewing. The system achieves its high-resolution
by using lens systems that are, in their self, fully functioning microscopes
with finite fields of view.
The DX-40 system includes an image viewing application and digitalEyepiece
which allows for rapid, efficient navigation of microscope slide images.
The principal application for this system will be in digital pathology
>>More info: www.dmetrix.net
