Imaging system ensures the fast production of high-quality optical sections through fluorescence-labelled biological specimens, resulting in accurate 3D visualisations
ApoTome, the innovative insert module for fluorescence imaging, has received the Photonics Circle of Excellence award from Photonics Spectra, the US magazine for optical technologies.
The prize was presented at the 2004 meeting of the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) in San Jose, California. This is ApoTome's second accolade for 2003, following inclusion in the R and D 100 awards presented every year by the leading US magazine for research, development and technology. ApoTome ensures the fast production of extremely high-quality optical sections through fluorescence-labelled biological specimens, resulting in accurate production of 3D visualisations. The technique provides images with a level of quality rivalling traditional methods but at lower cost and with less complex equipment.
ApoTome offers a larger number of biomedical users the kind of high-end capabilities previously only available to special research institutes and large imaging centres.
"This award confirms the innovation strategy at Carl Zeiss", says Aubrey Lambert, marketing manager for Carl Zeiss UK. "ApoTome's double success shows that our commitment to the development of innovative systems is worthwhile".
With ApoTome, the image of a grid structure is projected into the focal plane of the specimen and moved into three defined positions via a scanning mechanism.
A digital image is recorded at each grid position, and the three raw images are combined into an optical section with improved contrast and better resolution in the axial direction.
The grid structures are no longer visible in the image and the optical sectioning eliminates blurring.
With thick specimens in particular, ApoTome provides imaging quality in terms of sharpness and contrast that have never been achieved before in conventional fluorescence microscopy.
ApoTome is the third microscopy product from Carl Zeiss to receive an award in the USA within a very short time.
In December 2003, the LSM 510 Meta laser scanning microscope, and the Axioplan 2 imaging fluorescence microscope, were voted among the best scientific instruments in 2003 by the readers of The Scientist.
