What is a spinning disk confocal?

Spinning disk confocal microscopy (SDCM) represents an alternative to LSCM. Rather than a single pinhole, a SDCM has hundreds of pinholes arranged in spirals on an opaque disk (figure 2), which rotates at high speeds. The pinholes in the disk are arranged so that every part of the image is scanned as the disk is spun.

What is a spinning disk?

A spinning disk is the mechanism within a hard disk drive to which memory is written. With rotating plates attached to an arm that writes the data, the spinning disk mechanism physically resembles a record player (although it is sealed within an enclosure).

How does Airyscan work?

The Airyscan Principle Classic confocal laser scanning microscopes use point illumination to scan the sample sequentially. The microscope optics transform each point to an extended Airy disk (Airy pattern). A pinhole then spatially limits this Airy disk to block out-of-focus light from reaching the detector.

What are the applications of confocal microscopy?

Applications of confocal microscopy in the biomedical sciences include the imaging of the spatial distribution of macromolecules in either fixed or living cells, the automated collection of 3D data, the imaging of multiple labeled specimens and the measurement of physiological events in living cells.

What is peak deconvolution?

“Deconvolution” is a term often applied to the process of decomposing peaks that overlap with each other, thus extracting information about the “hidden peak”.

How does spinning disk confocal laser microscopy work?

Spinning disk confocal laser microscopy (SDCLM) overcomes this problem by exploiting the multiplex principle. Figure 1c illustrates how the sample is illuminated, and so light detected, at multiple points simultaneously.

Which is the spinning disk confocal scan head?

Spinning disk confocal scan head: A Yokogawa CSU-22 scan head is used as the primary spinning disk. The CSU-22 has a combination of mechanically connected upper and lower disks rotated in synchrony by a motor ( Tanaami et al., 2002 ).

How does a spinning disk improve image acquisition?

When spun, the pinholes scan across the sample in rows, building up an image. Using a spinning disk vastly improves the speed of image acquisition (allowing for imaging of fast dynamic processes and live specimens), and considerably reduces photo damage.

How are the pinholes arranged in a spinning disk?

Hundreds of pinholes are arranged in Archimedean spirals (left), which pass over the sample as the disk spins. The pinholes have diameter D and separation distance S, changing these values can optimize the resultant image received. The pinholes in the disk are arranged so that every part of the image is scanned as the disk is spun.