Mightex Systems OASIS macroscope/microscope for in vivo imaging and illumination

The Optical Activation, Stimulation and Imaging System (OASIS) by Mightex Systems is a suitable imaging and illumination solution for in vivo optogenetics, photostimulation and photoactivation experiments on live animals.

The product is typically configured as a macroscope, with high NA objective magnification options of 1.9x, 2.35x and 4x, and offers a large field of view. Being able to record and control the activity of each neuron in the brain of behaving animals at a single cell and ms resolution is achieved by the Polygon400 patterned illuminator to deliver light to a specified area of the specimen while leaving neighbouring areas untouched.

The device is designed to provide good reconfigurability/flexibility and can be configured to work around a fixed specimen, such as a sedated live animal, by rotation and translation. A heavy-duty precision XYZ stage is mounted on the support structure and the OASIS optical assembly is in turn mounted on the XYZ stage. The XYZ stage controls the lateral motion as well as focus of the system. A pan/tilt mechanism add-on is also available to orient the unit relative to the live animal. Motorised versions of both the XYZ stage and tilt mechanism are available.

Further options allow for flexible configurations and include: a microscope instead of macroscope optical path, allowing for integration of Olympus, Nikon, Zeiss and Leica infinity-corrected objectives; dual camera ports; multiple Polygon400s coupled into the light path; and patterned illumination/widefield combinations.