Hi Lisa,
This is certainly a very difficult decision to make. We had to go
through the same process in December so I feel your pain! We bought the
Olympus system in the end and are extremely happy with it - it provides
all of the flexibility you need, with multiphoton and visible lasers,
and the ability to switch between the stand being optimized for live
animal work and for imaging slides. That being said, we also very much
liked the LaVision, the Prairie and also the Zeiss 710 - which showed a
huge improvement over our old 510. If you were only interested in
multiphoton imaging, the LaVision has certain advantages, but if you
need visible lasers too then I'm afraid it won't suit your purposes.
The Prairie is also a wonderful system, and we were even favourably
impressed by the software, which I had been led to believe might be less
suitable for a core facility.
I realize I'm not helping at all here - yes, you need to test the
systems for yourself (which you have clearly already done!), but in the
end you may also have to consider factors such as price and local
service in order to make your decision, because there are several
excellent multiphoton systems out there now.
Please feel free to contact me offline if you want to discuss our
decision process in more detail....
Best,
Alison
Cameron, Lisa wrote:
>
> I have been investigating commercial multi-photon systems for awhile
> in order to purchase a system for my Institute's core microscopy
> facility. Our interest is to have the capability to do intravital
> imaging on an upright stand, but also be able to have facility users
> be able to put slides on and use the visible scanner and detectors. I
> realize this is a tall order for such versatility in one system, but
> since it is for a core (which needs to bring in revenue), I'm looking
> for the most flexible system. Does anyone have any suggestions about
> the most recent systems on the market? Or could you point out factors
> you think are the most important for making the decision on which
> company to go with? Please feel free to contact me off line.
>
> I have seen a demo of the Leica SP5 MP, Zeiss 710 NLO, Olympus MPE and
> Prairie's system.
>
> (BTW - my own experience is with widefield and confocal live-cell
> imaging, so I have not done 2-p myself, but have been learning about
> it for about a year)
>
> Thanks!
> - Lisa
>
> ---------------------------------------
> Lisa Cameron, Ph.D.
> Director of Confocal and Light Microscopy
> Dana Farber Cancer Institute
> 44 Binney St.; JF 215
> Boston, MA 02115
> Office phone: 617-582-8824
> Fax: 617-582-8750
> [log in to unmask]
>
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--
Alison J. North, Ph.D.,
Research Assistant Professor and
Director of the Bio-Imaging Resource Center,
The Rockefeller University,
1230 York Avenue,
New York,
NY 10065.
Tel: office ++ 212 327 7488
Tel: lab ++ 212 327 7486
Fax: ++ 212 327 7489
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