A new version of the SCAPE microscope was introduced. The new version SCAPE 2.0 will run 30 times faster than the old version. SCAPE 2.0 is expected to increase speed in scientific observations and laboratory operations.
The Columbia team behind the revolutionary 3D SCAPE microscope today announced a new version of this high-speed imaging technology. In collaboration with scientists from around the world, SCAPE 2.0 is used to reveal previously unseen details of living things, the team said the new version works 30 times faster than the previous version.
So why is it so valuable to have faster, three-dimensional imaging? The processes that activate living things range from the way an animal’s cells communicate with each other, to how a creature moves and changes, said Elizabeth Mortman, Columbia Mortimer’s chief researcher. The faster we can view these processes, the faster we can see them, and the 3-D imaging allows us to see the whole biological system instead of a single plane, and offers a clear advantage over traditional microscopes, the Institute of Mental Brain Behavior and senior author of the article said.
SCAPE 2.0 offers an innovative solution to increase speed:
Venkatakaushik Voleti, a team that developed SPACE 2.0, said, “Most microscopes that visualize live samples scan around the sample with a small laser beam, but the dot scanning approach is slow, giving only a short time to see each spot. Our new system is inclined to illuminate an entire plane in the sample or using an angled layer of light and then sliding that layer of light onto the sample to create a 3D image, “he said.
SCAPE 2.0 is very sensitive to live samples because it uses only a fraction of the light that spot scanning microscopes need to acquire images at the same speeds. SCAPE does all this with a single fixed lens and makes room for a large sample array compared to conventional light layer microscopes that require complex sample chambers surrounded by multiple lenses.
SCAPE 2.0 has a state-of-the-art fluorescent labeling system, which allows scientists to see specific cells in an animal in different colors and even observe the communication between cells. Hillman said most of the labeling methods and animal models are now transforming other areas of research, allowing scientists to discover how cancerous tumor cells signal to each other and how immune cells find their targets.
The improved resolution of SCAPE 2.0 also enabled the team to view samples created using tissue cleaning and tissue expansion. These methods allow scientists to see the structures and connections within robust specimens, from tumors in mouse brains to human biopsies. Although these samples are not viable, they are very large and take a long time to be visualized using standard microscopes.
“The limited availability of tools and techniques often restricts areas where scientists think they can work. SCAPE 2.0 opens up new views that we can see. What new questions can be asked to scientists and what new discoveries to explore later,” Hillman said. I hope it will inspire “
