Motion Control

Automated Microscopy

Will Motion Control Drive my XY Stage? My Z Stage (Focus Motor)?

Yes, Motion Control moves XY and Z (focus) stages for you with repeatable precision. Motion Control does the following:

• move distances relative to the current position (e.g. move 5000 microns in X, -600 microns in Y, and 5 microns in Z)
• move to absolute positions (e.g. move to the spot at X = 5100 microns, Y=-500 microns, Z=10 microns)
• move to the center of XY stage
• move to the XY stage's Home position, at its origin (usually one of its corners)
• set any XY or Z position to act as the new origin
• record the position of XY and Z stages, letting you map interesting regions within your sample or plate
• move to recorded positions

Using Motion Control's built-in tools, you can acquire a mosaic image of large samples. Motion Control can automatically scan the entire sample, taking a picture for each region.

Can Motion Control Allow Me to Acquire 3D Images?

Absolutely. The IPLab-Motion Control package includes built-in 3D acquisition commands. For 3D image capture with minimum hassle, use these built-in 3D Acquire commands to precisely control your focus motor along with your filter switchers and shutters.

BD Biosciences Bioimaging also provides the tools for enhancement and deconvolution of your 3D images. IPLab includes 3D enhancement and display tools. BD Biosciences Bioimaging also sells the deconvolution programs MicroTome and HazeBuster (from VayTek), as well as the visualization and measurement program VoxBlast (from VayTek). With this software, visualizing images in 3D gives you unparalleled insight into the spatial relationship of components in your specimen.

Can Motion Control Do Multifluorescence and GFP?

Yes, using Shutters & Filters Control. Motion Control includes the Shutters & Filters Control. Shutters & Filters Control enables IPLab to open and close the excitation shutter before and after camera exposures, limiting photobleaching to the absolute minimum. The filter switcher control lets you acquire multiple fluorescent channels with a single command. Put this all together, and you can acquire multiprobe and grayscale images, using multiple lamps, on any microscope.

IPLab's image acquisition commands incorporate control of shutters & filters, so they can automatically change filters and open and close a shutter. IPLab even has a built-in command to merge three grayscale images or sequences together, so you can show off multiple fluorescent images simultaneously as one color image.

Continue Reading

Please continue reading about Motion Control:

• Functionality: Motion Control supports XY & Z stages; 3D images; multifluorescence and GFP
• Microscope Support: Motion Control drives the best microscopes from Zeiss, Olympus, Nikon, and Leica
• Device Support: Motion Control and Shutters&Filters controls XY Stages, Filter Wheels, Z-Axis Focus, Shutters and other devices