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Quoting simon watkins <[log in to unmask]>:

>I have
> always thought that the Noran was an instrument before its time and while
> being a point scan/slit scan system had enormous flexibility (bleaching,
> ROI
> scanning etc) that the Nipgow disk system simply  doesnt have.  What if it
> had been designed in a pc platform, would it have continued to be used, or
> did it fail for some inherent design flaw that I am unaware of?

It did suffer from a certain lack of logic - the disadvantages of a
point scan system (fluorochrome saturation, poor signal at high
speeds) without the advantages (full confocality)  If you want
video speed with point scanning why not get the Roger Tsien / Nikon /
Biorad system?  If you are going to have slit detection why not have
parallel illumination?

People who bought the Noran system do seem to love it - I think
because it was so well engineered it was tremendously reliable.

I think the Lasertec confocal is still in production so if you
do want a spot scan / slit detect system there is one available.

                                                Guy


--
Associate Professor Guy Cox
Electron Microscope Unit, F09
University of Sydney NSW 2006
+61 2 9351 3176