Carol Bayles wrote:
>
> Dear  Readers,
>
> I was wondering if any of you have two microscopes, upright and
> inverted, with one of the new confocals and whether you actually
> switch the scan head from one to the other.  If so, how often do you
> switch and how much trouble is it really?  Would it be practical in a
> user facility and could an average user do it his/herself?
>
> Thank you in advance.
>
> Carol
>
> ...............................................................................
> Carol Bayles                             607-254-4860
> Microscopy,  Imaging & Fluorimetry Facility      607-254-4847  fax
> BioResource Center                                      [log in to unmask]
> 160 Biotech Bldg                                http://brcweb.bio.cornell.edu
> Cornell University
> Ithaca NY 14850

Hi Carol,

We have just purchased a DMIRBE (electronic version of inverted Leica)
to complement the upright DMRE for attachment to the TCS SP. Because of
the work we do, some users prefer the inverted, and some the upright.
Transfering the scanhead from one to the other takes about 5-10 minutes,
no alignment problems and in fact no need to reboot computer, laser or
fluorescent lamp, so essentially, no "downtime". At first glance, this
is an almost perfect solution ! However, I do have certain reservations,
and with time (we are in our first month of sharing micrscopes) I may
come to regret our decision:

1. the microsopes are VERY heavy, and need to be moved carefully. In a
fully configured microscope, there are necessarily easy handholds, and I
can forsee that some people could grab hold of a non-supportive part of
the microscope and break it/damage it, or worse still, drop the
microscope. Solution: be extremely careful, or have two microscopes set
up within reach of the scanhead.

2. If you could have two microscopes set up within reach of the
scanhead, the fiber-optic/cabling must be long enough to reach either
(generally it is not long enough so you have to move microscopes). In
most labs I have seen/worked in, space is a HUGE problem. Microscopes
back to back may be a better solution, but in any case this needs to be
taken into account when designing a lab. This also presumes that you are
able to have two dedicated microscopes, with one of them possibly not
suitable for use when the other is being confocalled on/with.

3. I think the main issue for us is actually going to be wear and tear
of the scanhead mount ! I am already seeing signs of wear on the port of
the invert microscope, mainly because it supports the weight of the
scanhead. We are providing support by placing a spacer under the head,
but the mounting of the scanhead on a daily or weekly basis will really
erode the mounting system in time. That can be replaced, but if it
involved a large repair, will become an issue.

Bottom line is, and this is a personal comment based on early
experiences with our system whhich is used 100% of the time in a big
lab, I do not (and will not in future) let every user do this on his or
her own. Since I am not in the lab all the time, only I or one other
expert user transfer the scanhead, and I insist that users consolidate
experiments setups so the systems are changed over as little as possible
(about twice a week at the moment). However, I will put a lot of effort
into buying another confocal and having two "dedicated" systems. I would
say that if the new scanheads are as light and easy to move and secure
as, say, a Hg lamp house, then I would have no problem with the manual
procedures.

Hope this doesn't put you off, but alerts you to the practical issues.

Regards

Ian.

--
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Dr Ian S. Harper
Confocal Microscopy Facility
Department of Biological Sciences
Monash University, Clayton, Vic 3168, Australia
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: +61 3 9905 5635;  Fax: +61 3 9905 5613
Mobile: 0408 314168
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