Image acquisition & analysis software from Cairn
There is a wide selection of high quality imaging software available, serving a cross section of academic and industrial imaging requirements. Whilst a particular package may provide the best support for facilities such as time lapse image acquisition, control of fast wavelength changers, cell motion tracking or 3D deconvolution, the choice of software is likely to be at least partly governed by products with which the end user is familiar. For this reason we are not tied to a single software manufacturer, but can provide software from a range of companies enabling us to give independent advice. We are approved distributors* for Universal Imaging Corporation's MetaFluor / MetaMorph suite; and Kinetic Imaging's AQM Advance 6. Support for our hardware devices is included in a range of other imaging software and we have worked together with companies such as Hamamatsu, Improvision and Indec (who have recently taken over Axon's Imaging Workbench) to provide complete integrated systems for our customers.
Other more specialist applications can be served by alternative software, for instance Ionoptix's Ionwizard for dynamic cell edge detection, and RedShirtImaging's Neuroplex for ultra-fast imaging. We are also adding some fast image and confocal line grabbing routines to our own Acquisition Engine software. This will enable images to be acquired alongside electrophysiological and other analogue recordings.
Your choice of imaging software for data acquisition will also be limited by the camera with which you want to acquire images. We outline each of the major packages here, but please refer to the full description for a list of the cameras supported by each package.
* Regional licensing restrictions apply
Image Acquisition Packages
Metafluor and Metamorph from Universal Imaging Inc.
This is without doubt the most widely used imaging software
for biological applications. It has become the industry standard in recent
years with its versatile multi-wavelength image acquisition, and wealth of
analysis features. As well as a wide variety of noise reduction and background
subtraction algorithms this immensely powerful package is capable of manipulating
images to produce "pseudo confocal" images with 3D deconvolution
facilities and 3D reconstructions of samples with Z sectioning facilities.
AQM Advance 6 from Kinetic Imaging
This new system builds on earlier imaging software from Kinetic
Imaging and takes advantage of the streaming modes available on the Hammamatsu
Orca range of cameras. They take advantage of firewire connectivity to provide
extremely fast image acquisition at the highest resolutions. Furthermore,
images can be transferred directly to disk to limit the delays introduced
by the PC, maximising the capture rates. Kinetic have recently extended the
analysis functionality of the software, notably they have launched their own
deconvolution module for generating 3D reconstructions.
Cell Edge Detection Software
IonWizard from Ionoptix Corp.
In recent years Ionoptix have established themselves as the
market leader in cell edge detection technology. Combined with their frame
rate cameras which can capture images at up to 240Hz, the accuracy of cell
length measurements is unsurpassed. It is most commonly used for measuring
changes in the length of individual cardiac myocytes while they contract,
but can be extended to measure sarcomere lengths from individual cells. The
Ionwizard software can also be used in conjunction with an intensified camera
for conventional fluorescence imaging.
Photodiode Array Imaging
Neuroplex II from RedShirtImaging.
This software is designed to drive the RedShirtImaging range
of photodiode array and fast CCD devices, which have very high dynamic range
& blistering speed. Full frame images can be captured in less than a millisecond,
providing the speeds required for recording from voltage sensitive dyes. These
high speed recordings can easily be combined with analogue recordings through
the facility to acquire up to eight channels of analogue data with the image
frame.
