Olympus Expands Availability of Ultra-Slim MicroProbe “Stick” Objectives for Minimally Invasive, High-Resolution Intravital Research

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., November 12, 2010 – Researchers have long wanted to use intact living animals as subjects for basic research, preclinical drug development, disease model studies and longitudinal studies. Olympus, a world leader in endoscopic, surgical and microscope imaging, now offers FluoView® FV1000 and FV1000-MPE microscope users three ultra-slim microscope objectives designed for minimally invasive, high-resolution in vivo imaging. With these “Stick” objectives, more researchers can visualize dynamic events and structures deep within live animals over long periods of time, while causing minimal stress or injury to the animals.

The three innovative “Stick” lenses comprise a unique class of objectives designed for obtaining high-resolution intravital microscope images. Users can select from a 27x, NA 0.70 objective; a 20x, NA 0.50 objective; and a 6x, NA 0.13 objective. The lenses include two of the world’s slimmest objectives (20x and 6x, each 1.3mm in diameter – about 1/20 of an inch).

With MicroProbe objectives, scientists can visualize life processes like circulation, respiration or digestion at high resolution without interfering with those processes, and can view organs like brain, kidney, liver or prostate in situ without major surgery, excessive injury or stress to research animals. Most important, scientists can follow the progress of a disease or treatment within a single animal over long periods of time.

“Until now, researchers studying a disease usually had to work with many animals, looking at different animals at different times and sacrificing them at various stages to reach an overall understanding of the effects of a given treatment,” said Edward A. Lachica, Ph.D., Director, Product Marketing for the Scientific Equipment Group of Olympus America Inc. “Investigators were unable, in most cases, to watch the progress of a disease or treatment on a microscopic level within any one animal. Now they can do long-term studies within individual animals, which gives a different perspective than was achievable before.”

Because the new lenses are true microscope optics, they provide better imaging performance than other intravital imaging technologies such as fiber bundles or gradient index (GRIN) lenses. With their high numerical apertures and water immersion optics, the three objectives provide outstanding resolution and light-gathering ability for intravital imaging. All three have 200 microns of working distance. Their transmission and chromatic correction ranges from 62 percent to 78 percent throughout the visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectra (450-1000nm), for much deeper optical penetration and higher-quality images.

For more information on Olympus MicroProbe “stick” objectives for high-resolution in vivo imaging, contact Olympus America Inc., 3500 Corporate Parkway, Center Valley, PA 18034-0610; email Dennis Donley, Olympus America Inc., at dennis.donley@olympus.com; or visit www.olympusamerica.com/25x

About Olympus America Inc., 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.

About Olympus
Olympus is a precision technology leader, creating innovative opto-digital solutions in healthcare, life science and consumer electronics products. Olympus works collaboratively with its customers and its affiliates worldwide to leverage R&D investment in precision technology and manufacturing processes across diverse business lines. These include:

• Gastrointestinal endoscopes, accessories, and minimally invasive surgical products;
• Advanced clinical and research microscopes;
• Industrial research, engineering, test, inspection and measuring instruments; and
• Digital cameras and voice recorders.

Olympus serves healthcare and commercial laboratory markets with integrated product solutions and financial, educational and consulting services that help customers to efficiently, reliably and more easily achieve exceptional results. Olympus develops breakthrough technologies with revolutionary product design and functionality for the consumer and professional photography markets, and also is the leader in gastrointestinal endoscopy and clinical and educational microscopes. For more information, visit www.olympusamerica.com

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