CARS Multimodal Microscope Imaging Available for Olympus FluoView® FV1000-MPE Multiphoton System

 CENTER VALLEY, Pa., October 21, 2009 – Olympus now offers researchers the ability to incorporate Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) microscopy into their research with a new CARS attachment for the company’s FluoView® FV1000-MPE multiphoton system. The unit is designed to work with the lasers that come with the multiphoton system; users do not need to purchase an additional femtosecond or picosecond laser for CARS microscopy.
CARS microscopy uses lasers to produce microscope images based upon molecular vibrations. It has many advantages, particularly when used in conjunction with other imaging modalities. CARS offers excellent 3D resolution, chemical selectivity and the ability to image without fluorescent labeling. In addition, it uses long wavelengths of light, helping minimize photodamage to cells. Its ability to probe lipids makes CARS microscopy a useful tool for the study of myelin sheath (for research relating to MS and other diseases), the impact of obesity on cancer and cardiovascular disease, membrane organization, 3D cell morphology, intracellular lipid bodies, drug delivery formulations, skin/cosmetics and more. The use of longer wavelengths helps CARS pair well with multiphoton microscopy, a powerful technique for imaging deep within tissue that also employs long-wavelength lasers.

“Olympus has contributed to the CARS field from the very start,” said Dennis Donley, Group Manager for confocal laser scanning microscopes at Olympus America. “Olympus product manager Yiwei (Kevin) Jia, Ph.D., has worked closely with other researchers in the field for years and is a co-author of several key papers in this area. Recently, he has been working with Dr. Albert Stolow of Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) on a multimodal microscope concept, incorporating CARS microscopy with multiphoton imaging to allow a vast expansion of imaging potential for live cell research.”

The new CARS module was developed by Olympus in close cooperation with Dr. Stolow and the NRC. For more information, contact Kevin Jia, Ph.D., Olympus America Inc., 3500 Corporate Parkway, Center Valley PA 18034-0610; phone 1-484-896-5090; email yiwei.jia@olympus.com ; visit  www.olympusamerica.com/CARS .

For researchers attending the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago on Monday, Oct 19 at 2PM, Ji-Xin Cheng, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry at Purdue University, Indiana, will be speaking on the subject of CARS microscopy in Olympus Booth #1031. All are welcome; no reservations are necessary to attend.

About Olympus Scientific Equipment Group

Olympus America Scientific Equipment Group provides innovative microscope imaging solutions for researchers, doctors, clinicians and educators. Olympus microscope systems offer unsurpassed optics, superior construction and system versatility to meet the ever-changing needs of microscopists, paving the way for future advances in life science.