Based at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute's new Innovation Centre, the Micro Imaging Facility features;
1. Miro-CT
2. Lightsheet Microscope
3. Opera Phenix Microscope
A state-of-the-art Micro-CT scans up to five times faster and non-destructively acquires three-dimensional datasets of small specimens, while an advanced lightsheet microscope illuminates an entire plane (sheet) so that a specimen can be imaged faster and without damage.
When combined with a built-in incubation system, this microscope can capture rapid biological events in living tissue such as the heartbeat of a zebrafish embryo, making it possible to rapidly identify developmental defects such as heart defects in zebrafish and mouse models.
This equipment, funded by the NSW Government, changes the way experiments are performed. In contrast to conventional techniques where individual images (also called “slices”) of a sample are examined, the 3D imaging technique allows scientists to see inside an object, slice by slice at the one time, to get a complete picture of a sample with greatly increased resolution.
The Micro Imaging Facility also possesses a high-throughput content screening microscope, allowing scientists to image hundreds of samples at the fastest speed currently possible. This state-of-the-art technology opens new avenues for screening drugs for the development of new treatments, but also for investigating gene mutations to better understand developmental defects. This technology provides researchers with a complete system for observing living cells under a multitude of different conditions, capturing and analysing these simultaneously.
Dr Vanessa Lanoue
Manager
Micro Imaging Facility
v.lanoue@victorchang.edu.au
Copyright © 2020 VCCRI
