Olympus has launched the all-in-one FSX100 fluorescence microscope system to enable even inexperienced users to create high-end research images.
The FSX100 microscope is designed to remove the complex steps involved in setting-up and using multi-channel fluorescence microscopes, ensuring that users can concentrate on the images and data without any prior microscopy expertise.
By coupling high-quality microscopy and imaging components with precision automation and software, the Olympus FSX100 is said to present simplified workflows.
Users can obtain high-quality images and image series by loading their sample; defining their observation mode and regions of interest; and then capturing their images.
The advanced UIS2 optics used in the FSX100 include a Sapo 40x (NA 0.95) objective and 0.4x-2.0x optical zoom, providing an overall magnification range of 17x-80x.
The three pre-installed fluorescence filter cubes - ultraviolet (360-370nm), blue (460-495nm) and green (530-550nm) - cover a range of dyes with fluorescence illumination provided by an easy-to-fit, pre-centred metal-halide burner with a 2,000-hour lifespan.
A highly stable LED illumination system is used to provide consistent brightfield and phase-contrast illumination with a 16,000-hour lifespan.
All components are motorised and controlled via the interactive software, ensuring that functions such as focusing, exposure, fluorescence wavelength selection and even cover-slip-thickness correction are automated.
As a result the user does not have to touch the microscope and can easily perform advanced imaging processes such as time-lapses, Z-stacks and multi-image alignments.
Due the compact and self-contained design of the FSX100, it can be placed on the bench at the point of discovery, or transported to wherever it is needed.
Furthermore, the stage is completely enclosed and therefore provides full darkroom facilities, ensuring maximum imaging sensitivity.
The intuitive software guides users through the whole imaging process.
An overview image of the sample is generated automatically once the slide or cell-culture dish is placed on the stage and the user has clicked 'start'.
From here, regions of interest are selected and the microscope zooms in, optimising the image and presenting the user with a series of intuitive tools for imaging the sample.
At this stage the user can capture the automatically optimised images or manually adjust settings such as the focus and exposure time, magnification, stage position and even change the observation method.
On capturing images, the associated data and metadata are stored in a highly logical image library.
As a result, settings from existing images can be reapplied to the instrument for imaging new samples, ensuring good experimental consistency.
