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ANALYTICAL AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT 17


Breaking the mould - flexible microscopy


Microscopy is entering a new era of flexibility with the ‘open source microscopy’ concept. Wolfgang Hempell reports.


W


here traditional microscope design has been based


on closed systems to meet the requirements of a limited number of uses, the open source concept paves the way for infinite applications and is set to change the face of modern microscopy.


Until recently, microscope frames were intended for a restricted range of applications and were sold as devoted systems with modules required for specific tasks already integrated. Accessing the frame’s light path to alter the microscope system required a level of engineering expertise that lay beyond that of most microscopists.


Olympus has developed the open source microscopy concept with its IX3 range of inverted microscope frames, designed around an exceptionally accessible infinite light path. As infinite light paths are parallel, inserting complex optical


Fig. 1. The IX83 inverted microscope frame. The ‘chest of drawers’ design with a fully accessible infinite light path, allows the function of the microscope to be easily adapted by swapping in interchangeable modules.


components does not bend the light, eliminating the possibility of optical aberrations. Tese ‘open source’ microscope frames have a swappable deck design similar to a chest of drawers; exchangeable modules fit into the deck and can be easily introduced into the light path as required (Figs. 1 and 2), enabling the user to shape the microscope to fulfil many diverse requirements.


As many advances in cell biology are driven by microscopy- based techniques that permit the detailed observation of cellular activities, it is easy to see how such an adaptable frame can push the boundaries of modern research. Te inverted microscope frame is the essential base on which wide-ranging microscopy systems for a variety of live cell imaging applications are built and the open source microscopy concept places this system design in the hands of the end user. Free from constraints, how will the microscopy


Fig. 2. (Right) Insertion of an optical module in the two-deck IX3 frame. This right side port module provides access to a variety of light sources and detectors.


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