The New DCS-120 Confocal and Multiphoton FLIM Systems
The new bh DCS-120 Confocal and Multiphoton FLIM Systems come with unprecendeted features. Up to four ps diode lasers can be attached to the system and controlled from the SPCM data acquisition software. The lasers can be used individually or be multiplexed to obtain several images for different excitation wavelength. Combined with the two parallel FLIM channels, the system records and displays up to 8 images for different combination of excitation and detection wavelength. Fluorescence decay curves within points or regions of interest can be displayed. Multiphoton imaging has been made simple and affordable by integrating a Toptica femtosecond fibre laser in the system. The instrument software is configurable for different user levels. At the entry level, the instrument is extremely easy to use so that FLIM images are obtained with only a few mouse clicks. On the expert level, advanced functions, such as simultaneous FLIM / PLIM, FLITS, fast accumulation of FLIM time series, metabolic FLIM, or fast online FLIM are available. Ultra-fast detectors are available to achieve IRF widths below 20 ps. Fluorescence-decay times down to a few picoseconds can be resolved with these systems. Data analysis combines time-domain analysis with phasor analysis, and uses an MLE fit algorithm for increased lifetime accuracy at low photon number. A synthetic IRF function makes recording of the system IRF unnecessary. Accuracy is further improved by intelligent binning and image segmentation options. Analysis is running on a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) which reduces the calculation times from several minutes to a few seconds. A 40-pages overview brochure and a 400-pages user handbook are available for the system.
