Live Cell Microscopy With No Focus Drift

A new microscope is designed to eliminate focus drift during live-cell time-lapse observation, often an obstacle to obtaining data.

The TE2000 perfect focus (PFS) inverted research microscope delivers automatic focus correction for the TE2000E2 series of inverted microscopes. This eliminates the need to adjust the image focus every time stage movement occurs. Eliminating focus adjustment for time-lapse recordings substantially reduces photo-bleaching and keeps specimens alive for longer periods of fluorescence observation. The microscope is the product of Nikon Instruments (Tokyo, Japan).

The TE2000-PFS works by optically detecting the surface of the coverslip and transmitting focusing data through Nikon's continuous optical feedback (COF) technology to the microscope's focusing mechanism. This mechanism automatically adjusts focus to compensate for even the slightest drift in image focus. The system offers a focusing precision of less than one-third the focal depth of the objective by combining the PFS technology with the Z-axis control of the TE2000E2.

"Nikon's TE2000-PFS removes one of the biggest obstacles to acquiring live-cell time-lapse data,” noted Stan Schwartz, vice president, Nikon Instruments. "The new system is compatible with a variety of observation methods, including brightfield and fluorescence. Researchers will never again miss rapid events in specimen observation because of unwanted focus drift.”






Related Links:
Nikon Instruments