Resonant mirrors vary somewhat in their resonant frequency and the settings of the mirror controller must be adjusted to obtain the best possible images in bidirectional mode. A synchronization signal from the resonant board must be adjusted so that it is both symmetric and its phase is aligned with the zero crossings of the mirror…
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Calibrating the Optotune
If you have been using the Optotune, you must have noticed that the values displayed within the optotune panel for the setting of the slider and the parameters of the z-scanning waveform are unit-less and not very useful. The latest update to Scanbox allows you to calibrate the Optotune and have all the units within the Optotune panel in micrometers.…
Read MoreMemory-mapped data-sharing for real-time processing
To enhance the real-time processing capabilities of Scanbox we now provide a general mechanism to share frames being collected with another application running concurrently on the same computer via a memory mapped file. This general and flexible mechanism allows any user to extend the real-time processing of Scanbox beyond what is already offered. As an…
Read MoreLine scan and continuous resonant modes
The latest version of Scanbox includes two new features requested by users. These appear are small toggle buttons on the left within the Scanner panel. The button on the bottom right of the panel is already known to you — it allows you to toggle between Unidirectional and Bidirectional scanning modes. The letter shown in…
Read MoreMeasuring the resonant frequency
The actual time a line takes to scan depends on the resonant frequency of the mirror. This is typically around 8kHz but it can vary from one device to another. One easy way to measure it is to split the signal that goes from TRIG OUT to the TRIG IN of the Alazartech board and feed…
Read MoreSimultaneous imaging and electrophysiology
Scanbox now allows the possibility of doing simultaneous imaging and electrophysiology. An external DAQ device, supported by Matlab’s data acquisition toolbox, is need to do this. In our case, we had an old NI-USB-6221 lying around that we decided to use. In the present case, we set things up to do patch-clamp recordings from a single…
Read MoreMeet Knobby
Knobby is finally here! Knobby provides an alternative to the 3D mouse interface for controlling the position of the microscope. Knobby offers simultaneous control of all axes of the microscope by independent knobs (X, Y, Z and objective angle, A) and is very responsive to the user movements producing nice, smooth motion. The position control…
Read MoreLeaked pictures show knobby is almost ready
Leaked pictures surfaced on-line this past Friday indicating that the much anticipated release of Knobby is expected very soon. One Scanbox user that preferred not to give his name welcomed the news: “Finally, as someone trained in patch clamp, I never liked the 3D mouse. Turning heavy knobs that move smoothly… yes, that feels different!” The new…
Read MoreAdding an SLM path for optogenetics
As promised, there has been some progress in adding an SLM path for optogenetics to the microscope and things are looking good… We are now calling on potential users to provide input into the features that they would need/want in a GUI interface, as this may impact how useful this addition will be to our own…
Read MoreTTL synchronization
The simplest way to synchronize external stimulation with the microscope data collection is for the user to generate a TTL signal that is HIGH when the stimulus is on and LOW when it is off. This signal should be split and connected to the TTL1 input of Scanbox and the AUX1 input of the Alazartech card…
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