Dedicated Software Packages Enhance Photomicroscopy Applications

A new line of dedicated software packages designed to enhance the use of photomicroscopy in the life sciences in an easy-to-use, user-friendly fashion is now available.

The camera and microscope manufacturer Olympus (Hamburg, Germany) has released a series of three different software packages called ”cellSens Entry,” "cellSens Standard,” and "cellSens Dimension”. The three packages are interrelated and lead from basic to very complex applications.

The basic package, "cellSens Entrty,” gives the user the ability to perform simple image acquisition and documentation. The customizable interface provides complete control over a range of Olympus digital cameras to obtain live images in a number of formats, including AVI movies. This software package can perform straightforward postcapture processing such as light intensity and white balance adjustments, and its layers file format enables the addition of arrows and annotation text without affecting the original image channels.

The intermediate package, "cellSens Standard,” enables more advanced image capture, including time-lapse and TWAIN acquisition. The program supports advanced hardware control for processes such as objective and filter changes, focusing, and internal shutter control. It also boasts extended geometry functions that allow images to be easily manipulated via mirroring, rotation, resizing, cropping, and channel shifting. The "cellSens Standard” program can also convert bit-depth and color-space settings to meet the capabilities of the computer system as well as the requirements of the application. Further image processing tools are available for contrast adjustment, smoothing, image sharpening, as well as noise and shading correction.

The advanced "cellSens Dimensions” software package provides a broad range of advanced features as well as specialized, optional solution modules that support complex procedures such as extended focal imaging, multiple image alignment, and multiposition imaging. In addition, live images can be transferred directly to colleagues via the Internet using the program's "netcam” capability.

Within the images, interactive measurement functions can be executed on a separate image layer. Extracted numerical values such as size, distance, or area can subsequently be exported to Microsoft Excel for in-depth statistical analysis. Once data has been obtained, a unique report composer uses Microsoft Word templates to generate user-defined reports that retrieve images and data directly from the cellSens database.

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