Multiphoton Optics from Olympus Enable Deeper Tissue Imaging

The new line of Olympus SCALEVIEW multiphoton microscope objectives, which allow researchers to see far deeper into tissue than was ever possible before, has earned three prestigious life science product awards. The 25x Olympus 4mm (NA 1.0) and 8mm (NA 0.9) SCALEVIEW microscope objectives allow researchers to create highly accurate 3D structural representations of tissue from intact specimens by offering detailed, crisp images over super-long working distances. The prizes include the prestigious 2012 R&D 100 Award and the Gold Edison Award in the Science/Medical category. The SCALEVIEW lenses were also judged to be among 2012’s ten best microscopy innovations according to this year’s Microscopy Today Innovation Award competition.

The new SCALEVIEW multiphoton objectives provided by Olympus are significant because they facilitate breakthrough research on the functioning of the brain and other vital organs. Previously, researchers using light microscopes needed to slice thin sections of brain tissue to make observations through any significant depth. Every cut damaged tissue and potentially deformed the sample, and the tissue itself was so opaque that it made it difficult to visualize the millions of neural filament connections in any detail.

Using a combination of the cutting edge FluoView FV1000MPE multiphoton microscope system, SCALEVIEW optics and a breakthrough reagent developed by Dr. Atsushi Miyawaki of Japan’s RIKEN Brain Science Institute, which literally turns tissue transparent (Hiroshi Hama et al., Nature Neuroscience 14, 1481-1488 (2011)), researchers can see up to 8mm deep without slicing the tissue. Image quality, sharpness and brightness are maximized as the lenses have an ultra-long working distance optimized specifically for deep imaging. Image focal accuracy is enhanced thanks to the chromatic aberration correction of the lenses, which covers the complete tuning range of the multiphoton Ti:Sapphire laser, while the spherical aberration correction collar ensures that image degradation can be minimized when adjusting for differences in cover-glass thickness, temperature and specimen variation. In this way, the SCALEVIEW system helps biologists generate data that more accurately reflects the true internal structure of complex specimens without the need for interpolation, giving more confidence in the biological relevance of findings.

The R&D 100 Awards (selected by an independent judging panel and the editors of R&D Magazine) have long been a benchmark of excellence for industry sectors as diverse as telecommunications, high-energy physics, software, manufacturing, and biotechnology. The prestigious Gold Edison Award (internationally known as the Edison Awards™), have been honoring the best in innovation and excellence in the development of new products and services for the last 25 years.

In addition, the Microscopy Today Innovation Awards, which were established to honor innovative microscopy-related products and methods, select ten equally ranked winners each year on the basis of their importance and usefulness to the microscopy community. This is particularly focused on their ability to help facilitate better, faster, or entirely new methods of analysis. With the power to open up brand new research applications across the life sciences, the SCALEVIEW objective lenses certainly meet these criteria, and provide users with the power to generate truly insightful biological data.