A new instrument makes available an innovative approach to fluorescence microscopy, opening up new possibilities for life science researchers.
Leica Microsystems, one of the world's biggest microscope manufacturers, has launched a new instrument built around an invention devised nearly 20 years ago by Professor Christopher Dunsby from Imperial's Department of Physics. The microscope, called Viventis SCAPE, offers researchers a rapid way of making three-dimensional images of cells and living tissues, and is gentler to the sample than existing fluorescence microscopy techniques.
"Using this technique, you can look at dynamics in biology, things like heart muscle cells beating as you electrically pace them or calcium dynamics in neurons," Professor Dunsby explains. Another option is to look at lots of samples in a short period of time. "My lab has used this technique to look at arrays of specimens, as a way of generating better statistics about the biology."
