Photometrics® and Confocal.nl Announce a New Collaboration in Sub Diffraction-Limited Confocal Microscopy

TUCSON, Ariz., April 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- US-based scientific camera designer and manufacturer Photometrics and Netherlands-based microscope system developer Confocal.nl have created a partnership to offer a new sub diffraction-limited confocal microscope system. The Confocal.nl Re-scan Confocal Microscope (RCM) combined with the Photometrics Prime 95B™, the world's first back-illuminated Scientific CMOS camera, provides an ideal solution for super-resolution imaging.

The RCM is not a microscope in the conventional sense. It's a box containing pre-aligned optics that can be connected to any microscope to transform it into a confocal system capable of sub diffraction-limited imaging. The RCM connects simply by standard C-mount adaptors and sits between the microscope and camera. The RCM is a 'plug-and-play' confocal microscope capable of super resolution imaging.

Super-resolution is achieved on the RCM with an innovative optomechanical design. Inside the RCM is a scanner, a rescanner and a pinhole. The scanner scans the microscope image and the rescanner writes the image on the camera chip. The trick is that by doubling the sweep of the rescanner, the image written on the camera chip is doubled in size. The size of the rescanning spot doesn't change, so the image is rescanned with improved resolution as low as 170 nm.

Working together with the Photometrics Prime 95B, super-resolution images can be obtained with a 95% quantum efficiency and the speed of CMOS architecture. With the low laser power required by the RCM compared to conventional confocal microscopy, the large 11x11 μm pixels of the Prime 95B add additional sensitivity to the system to make it even better for imaging live cells. And with a 1200x1200 pixel array, the Prime 95B delivers that high sensitivity with a large field of view.

As a plug-and-play box, the RCM and Prime 95B can be added to any microscope making it a cost-effective solution for researchers who are interested in confocal or super-resolution imaging.

About Photometrics
Founded in 1978, Photometrics designs and manufactures high-performance CMOS, EMCCD and CCD cameras for life sciences. The original architect of the world's first scientific-grade microscopy EMCCD camera and the first 95 percent quantum efficiency, back-illuminated Scientific CMOS camera, Photometrics continues to lead the industry with state-of-the-art imaging instrumentation for the scientific community. Photometrics also offers comprehensive OEM support, including fully characterized, cost-efficient imaging systems and components. Photometrics is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. Additional information is available at www.photometrics.com.

About Confocal.nl
Confocal.nl is a spin-off of the University of Amsterdam founded by Erik Manders and Peter Drent. Manders' well-known contributions to the field of microscopy are the Manders' coefficient for measurement of co-localization, Controlled Light Exposure Microscopy and Re-scan Confocal Microscopy. Drent has 25 years of experience in sales, marketing and development of (confocal) microscopes. Manders and Drent have teamed up to innovate confocal microscopy with the Re-scan Confocal Microscope. Additional information is available at www.confocal.nl.

© Copyright 2017, Photometrics. All rights reserved. Photometrics and the Photometrics logo are registered trademarks, and Photometrics Prime and Prime 95B are trademarks of Photometrics. All other product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Photometrics

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