microscopy Archives

SD Optics releases MEMS-based system "WiseTopo" for 3D microscopy

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SD Optics has released WiseTopo, a MEMS-based microarray lens system that transforms a 2D microscopes into 3D.

Attendees at Photonics West can see a demonstration at their booth #4128 between Jan 31 to Feb 2, 2023 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.

SD OPTICS introduces WiseTopo with our core technology Mals lens, the Mems-based microarray lens system. WiseTopo transforms a 2D microscope into a 3D microscope with a simple plug-in installation, and it fits all microscopes. The conventional system has a limited depth of field, so a user has to adjust the focus manually by moving the z-axis. It is difficult to identify the exact shape of the object instantly. The manual movements can cause deviations in the observation, missing information, incomplete inspection, and an increase in user work load. SD Optics' WiseTopo is the most innovative 3D microscope module empowered with the patented core technology Mals. WiseTopo converts a 2D microscope into a 3D microscope by replacing the image sensor. With this simple installation, WiseTopo resolves the depth-of-field issue without Z-axis movement. Mals is an optical Mems-based, ultra-fast variable focusing lens that implements curvature changes in the lens with the motion of individual micro-mirrors. Mals moves and focuses at a speed of 12Khz without z-axis mechanical movement. It is a semi-permanent digital lens technology that operates at any temperature and has no life cycle limit. WiseTopo provides ideal features in combination with our developed software. These features let users have a better understanding of an object in real time. WiseTopo provides an All-in-focus function where everything is in focus. The Auto-focus function automatically focuses on the Region of Interest Focus lock maintains focus when multiple focus ROIs are set in the z-axis, multi-focus lock stays in focus even when moving the X- and Y-axis. Auto-focus lock retains auto-focus during Z-axis movement and others. These functions maximize user convenience. WiseTopo and its 3D images will reveal necessary information that is hidden when using a 2D microscope. WiseTopo obtains in-focused images with fast varying focus technology and processes many 3D attributes such as shape matching and point cloud instantly. WiseTopo supports various 3D data formats for analysis. For example, a comparison between the reference 3D data with the real-time 3D data can be performed easily. In the microscope, objective lenses with different magnifications are mounted on the turret. Wisetopo provides all functions even when the magnification is changed. Wisetopo provides all 3D features in any microscope and can be used with all of them, regardless of the brand

3D images created in Wisetopo can be viewed in AR/VR. This will let users feel and observe 3D data in the metaverse space.

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Lensless camera for in vivo microscopy

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A team comprised of researchers from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX has published a Nature Biomedical Engineering article titled "In vivo lensless microscopy via a phase mask generating diffraction patterns with high-contrast contours."

Abstract: The simple and compact optics of lensless microscopes and the associated computational algorithms allow for large fields of view and the refocusing of the captured images. However, existing lensless techniques cannot accurately reconstruct the typical low-contrast images of optically dense biological tissue. Here we show that lensless imaging of tissue in vivo can be achieved via an optical phase mask designed to create a point spread function consisting of high-contrast contours with a broad spectrum of spatial frequencies. We built a prototype lensless microscope incorporating the ‘contour’ phase mask and used it to image calcium dynamics in the cortex of live mice (over a field of view of about 16 mm2) and in freely moving Hydra vulgaris, as well as microvasculature in the oral mucosa of volunteers. The low cost, small form factor and computational refocusing capability of in vivo lensless microscopy may open it up to clinical uses, especially for imaging difficult-to-reach areas of the body.