Technology Focus

Spinning Disk Confocal microscopes use a spinning disk of pinholes to reject out of focus light resulting in optical sectioning. (See figure – in-focus light passes through the pinholes to reach the camera). Unlike a point scanning confocal, the whole field of view is simultaneously illuminated and the image captured on a camera chip. The resulting improvement in speed and the lower light load makes a spinning disk confocal ideal for live imaging. 

Lightpath of a spinning disk confocal. A micro-lens disk focuses laser light through the pinholes of the primary disk. In-focus returning light from the sample passes back through the pinholes and is separated by a dichroic mirror to scan across the sensor of a CMOS or CCD camera.   

Figure credit – https://www.photometrics.com

The water pump allows multi-area, long time-lapse and high-content plate screening with the high NA water objectives by maintaining the meniscus across large distances of stage travel and negating evaporation over time. 

https://www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com/en_EU/products/confocal-microscopes/csu-series/csu-w1