DaXi is a SOLS design that simultaneously achieves sub-micron resolution (450nm laterally and 2um axially) and large FOV (volume of 3000 x  800 x 300 um with galvo, more with stage scanning). Light sheet gentleness and speed. Multi-view capability.

Interested in getting imaging data like this? ASI is commercializing single-objective light sheet microscopes and might make one like DaXi if there are people who would buy it. DaXi originally developed by @loicaroyer and @Bin_YANG_Optics.

Here it is now. See

At #CellBio2022? ASI has a new microscope to announce in the talk at 11:15am by @briankhake in theater 1 in the exhibition area, and afterwards the curtain will be pulled back. Booth 2025.

Iterative leveling is guided by bead stacks: take stack of beads, inspect reliced images, poke again. It’s tedious but algorithmic once you determine which coma direction corresponds to which tilt direction. In our hands, once the coma is gone then other aberrations are gone too.

If you want to do this yourself the process we’ve come to is 1) cut AR-coated coverslip to size; 2) apply silicone glue around the edge of the objective tip; 3) place coverslip 4) level it by iteratively pushing the edge with a toothpick; 5) double-check with beads after curing.

We then analyze the stack with PSFj to make sure the performance lines up with theory. We found out the hard way that you can miss things if you don’t have sub-micron beads or rely solely on visual inspection.

Most high-NA air objective lenses are coverslip-corrected but sometimes you want to image in air, e.g. high-NA SOLS. We have glued coverslips onto objectives for this. To check how the gluing went we take image stack of diffraction-limited beads supported on a coverslip. 🧵.

Current status: working on API definition and initial code. If you are interested in joining with us at this stage please get in touch with me and/or @nico_stuurman. Hoping to make the repo public in the coming months. Started by ASI and the Micro-Manager team.

Goal #3: FOSS community effort with contributions from many individuals and institutions. To avoid duplication of effort the plugin should work with many microscopes in many contexts. Contributing to the project should be easy.

Goal #2: Be easily used via Python and other frameworks. Accomplished with API-centric code arcitecture. While we plan on having a MM2 GUI (which will adapt to hardware present), it should be easy to use the business logic via scripts, create GUIs in napari, etc.

We have 3 goals for the plugin. Goal #1: Leverage the robust foundation of Micro-Manager, while addressing shortcomings (e.g. metadata handling, file storage formats). This may necessitate tweaks to Micro-Manager itself.

Seem an appropriate cue to announce a MM2 plugin "LightSheetManager" to provide an easy interface to all light sheet microscopes, be they custom-built or from commercial parts. CC @Bin_YANG_Optics @DougPShepherd @kschink @MarijnSiemons @Maurice_Y_Lee @mattersOfLight @openspim.

Tuesday 17:10-17:40 CET Room B.Imaging large 2D areas is usually done by tiling images with step/settle stage motion. I present a method for rapid 2D imaging -- like a slide scanner -- using a standard widefield microscope, a constant-speed stage, and a synchronized galvo.

Monday 16:40-17:10 CET Room B.A simple design trick enables an objective lens to work in any medium. I will describe this trick and discuss our latest all-immersion design with 3.4mm WD and NA 1.05 in water, 1.15 in CLARITY, and 1.24 in BABB. Help us make this lens a reality!.

I will be giving 2 #FOM2021 company talks:.- Mon 16:40 CET "A high-NA objective lens that works in water, CLARITY, BABB, and more".- Tues 17:10 CET "How to turn a widefield microscope into a rapid 2D imaging system". Descriptions follow:.

A beautiful demonstration of their utility for high-NA SOLS with large FOV by @Bin_YANG_Optics and @loicaroyer is at

It was an interesting experience explaining things technically correct but with the least jargon possible, within a tight space constraint.

So far I've only spotted 2 minor things I would like to change, there are probably more. Sigh. .

I'm "published" again, a brief semi-technical overview article about light sheet microscopy for the Biophotonics magazine. Perhaps a good resource for people who want a "lightweight" overview of LSFM/SPIM. Formatting is bit weird in the HTML version