Software module optimises image quality and boosts productivity by automatically recording high-resolution, multidimensional images
For the first time, says Carl Zeiss, light microscope users in biomedical research and routine laboratories can now automatically record high-resolution, multidimensional images, saving time and optimising image quality for beginners and experts a like.
The MosaiX module of Carl Zeiss's AxioVision 4.2 imaging software completely controls the digital camera and motorised stage to automatically record, analyse, and archive digital images and image series.
Previewed at MicroScience 2004 in July, MosaiX is said to be ideal for many applications in quality inspection, materials analysis, metal, plastics or materials laboratories, environment analysis or micromechanics, geology, mineralogy, and forensic science.
Imaging of large objects has traditionally involved taking a series of individual images of the area under examination and manually combining them with imaging software.
MosaiX works in a similar way, combining individual frames to form a single, large image of an entire surface or large object.
However, it is completely automatic, precisely positioning the object during the recording sequence using the motorised stage and using a powerful correlation algorithm to form a single, high-resolution overview image. MosaiX retains the pixel accuracy of the original individual images while combining the overlapping images so precisely that all the important details of the specimen are recorded.
Users can then simply and quickly navigate around the object for further individual analyses, using the MosaiX image like a map. AxioVision 4.2 also offers a manual alternative, the Panorama module.
Like MosaiX, Panorama automatically combines individual frames to form a single overview image - but with Panorama the frames are identified and captured manually.
Again, because the composite Panorama image is composed electronically from all the individual frames, the entire image is held at the resolution of the individual frames.
This still represents a significant saving in time and turns a tedious task into a simple and easy exercise. MosaiX and Panorama can be combined with the multidimensional image recording modules available in AxioVision 4.2.
The Zeiss ZVI image format (images as assets) enables all the relevant data to be stored in a single file.
However, it is also possible to choose a different image format, such as JPG, BMP, or Tiff, without any loss of information about the image, positioning, etc The size of the MosaiX image is restricted only by the storage space available on the hard disk.
User-friendliness is also evident in the control of the Carl Zeiss motorised microscopes. Even complex, six-dimensional experiments can be defined without programming and the settings saved and used again for later experiments, says Carl Zeiss.
