ScanImage 2019 : Photostimulation Capability SI Versions and Demos

Created by Lawrence Niu on May 07, 2019

We need a feature for coupling 2D imaging to external manipulation of the specimen.

  • Specifically, we have a series of experiments that require the synchronization of photostimulation, of a specific population of neurons.

Does ScanImage 5.1 contain the capability to control photostimulation during an imaging session?

If not, what can we do to obtain it and what would it entail with regards to the current configuration?

I have read that ScanImage 2015 contains this feature. Could you evaluate the pros and cons of changing software to the version ScanImage 2015?

 

ScanImage 5.2 does not support photostimulation.

  • Photostimulation is a premium feature of ScanImage 2016 which also includes a cell picker that provides the targeting interface.

It is fairly simple to upgrade to ScanImage 2016. At the time this is written:

To achieve your objective:

  • You will require a second laser path and a second pair of scanners, usually a galvo/galvo pair.
  • You will require additional NI hardware to control the new scanner pair and potentially another pockels cell depending on the type of laser you use in the stimulation path.
  • The ScanImage MDF file will need to be configured to accommodate the new hardware. 

We have some users that use a one photon laser and stimulate with a column of light while others have a second 2-photon laser to achieve precise point stimulation. This is an obvious cost trade off with one photon column stimulation having the disadvantage of possibly stimulating other neurons but being much cheaper. Those that work in Drosophila and have exquisite control of expression tend toward the cheaper route.

The cool thing about the premium version is that it provides completely independent XY control of two separate laser paths which is great for photostimulation and imaging. What we are currently working on is to extend the independent control to the Z dimension.

Our 2016 premium release will include independent control for two separate lasers in XYZ which means you can image in one plane and stimulate in another.

There are two primary ways to achieve this, remote focusing, and spatial light modulation. Both of these approaches will be supported in the 2016 version. *This kind of functionality does not exist in any other microscope control software that we are aware of.

Not sure if you need to upgrade your microscope system to include a second path.


Vidrio plans two premium releases in 2016

The first release in June will include:

  • Real-time analysis version 1.0 (see the DEMO VIDEO)
  • Motion correction for laser targeting version 1.0 (see the DEMO VIDEO video)
  • Arbitrary line scanning
  • Large file format support (BigTiff)
  • Human-readable metadata extraction tool
  • Web accessible API documentation

The second release will coincide with SFN and will include:

  • Support for multiple independent XYZ scanners
  • Spatial light modulator support
  • Motion correction version 2.0
  • Real-time analysis version 2.0