Andor Technology, a provider of scientific imaging and spectroscopy solutions, has launched its ‘Optically Centred Crop Mode’ on the iXon Ultra EMCCD platform. This offers extremely fast frame rate performance from Region of Interest (ROI), and is designed to be matched to the speed and sensitivity needs of live cell, super-resolution microscopy.
Available on the iXon Ultra 897 camera, the Optically Centred Crop Mode facilitates centrally located ROI performance that, Andor says, significantly outstrips that available through conventional ROI means.
For example, a frame rate of 569fps is achievable from a 128 x 128 pixel ROI, a factor of two to three times faster than competing EMCCD cameras with the same ROI. The iXon is available with the OptoMask accessory, which facilitates use of this high-speed mode.
The feature is of particular relevance to the pointillism single molecule-based super-resolution microscopy community, as well as being of interest to many other fast applications, such as ion signalling, fluorescence correlation microscopy and astronomy adaptive optics.
Andor has also announced that both its Neo and Zyla sCMOS cameras are fully functional in open source microscopy acquisition software, µManager. The cameras now achieve sustained full resolution frame rates of up to 100fps, benefiting from recent µManager architectural improvements. Andor’s freely downloadable sCMOS camera drivers work in unison with µManager.
