CELL SIZE 6.5 f. 02 PIXEL ARRAY f. 03 2048 X 2048 EFFECTIVE AREA 13.312 IMAGES COURTESY OF: PEAK QUANTUM EFFICIENCY_ f. 05 QE @ 560 nm 82% QE @ 500 nm 77% Robert Harvey, INSTITUTO GULBENKIAN DE CIÊNCIA UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Qi Zhang, MAXIMUM EXPOSURE TIME 10 s A B S O L U T E M A X I M U M F R A M E R AT E 25,655 NAGOYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Philipp Keller, Kenji Kanai and Kenta Saito, HHMI f. 41 HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY Michael Davidson, Joerg Bewersdorf, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY FRAME YALE UNIVERSITY Bruce Gonzaga, 41 Wang Haibo, MOLECULAR DEVICES HUAZHONG AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY Sato Honma, Tian Tian, HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY NANJING MEDICAL UNIVERSITY Hamamatsu Photonics Deutschland GmbH (49) 8152 375 0 EMAIL: [email protected] Hamamatsu Photonics France S.A.R.L. (33) 1 69 53 71 00 EMAIL: [email protected] Hamamatsu Photonics Norden AB (46) 8 509 031 00 EMAIL: [email protected] Hamamatsu Photonics Italia S.R.L. (39) 02 93581733 EMAIL: [email protected] Hamamatsu Photonics UK Limited (44) 1707 294888 EMAIL: [email protected] Hamamatsu Photonics (CHINA) Co., Ltd. (86) 10 6586 6006 EMAIL: [email protected] Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Systems Division (81) 53 431 0124 EMAIL: [email protected] hamamatsucameras.com SCAS0106E02 Created in the U.S.A. SPRING 2016 Hamamatsu Corporation, U.S.A. (908) 231 0960 EMAIL: [email protected] SCIENTIFIC CAMERAS UTHSCSA X2 2016 V2 Jun Hee Kim, QE @ 750 nm 61% MINIMUM EXPOSURE TIME 1 ms Kazuaki Nagayama, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY QE @ 670 nm 76% f. 06 S PAC E Emilio Gualda, LT TIME SPRING 2016 SCIENTIFIC CAMERAS When the history of this decade is written, what will be the memorable scientific achievements? Usually it’s the big discoveries or culminating achievements that are celebrated. But every day, every scientist takes small steps toward a potential breakthrough. In this regard, scientific research is the embodiment of Kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continuous, incremental improvement rooted in empirical investigation and relying on teamwork and best of practice methods. Within Hamamatsu engineering, Kaizen V2 is never discussed, but it is always practiced. Since the launch of the ORCA-Flash4.0 sCMOS camera, we have stood side by side with researchers to learn what works and 2016 what can be done better. As of October 2015, every ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 has exactly LT X2 what you asked for...increased quantum efficiency. We understand that by capturing more of the light emitted from you samples, you are now free to go a little faster, to resolve those extremely dim structures, to achieve greater localization precision in super-resolution experiments and to more efficiently image developing organisms with light sheets. We believe a small change can have a big impact. + 2016 + 2 016 + + + FRAME + 01 + CELL SIZE ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 D I S C O V E R T H E B R E A K T H R O U G H From its introduction the Flash4.0 has challenged the status quo of imaging and undergone a series of useful enhancements. The most recent is perhaps the most exciting; a notable increase in the ability to detect photons. This enhanced QE means that you have a possibility of detecting the faintest of signal or for brighter samples that ideal image quality is achieved with shorter exposure times, perhaps saving your cells from phototoxicity or bleaching. With the ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 already delivering wide field of view, large dynamic range, and fast frame rates, this QE enhancement only makes it more versatile and powerful. If you have not yet discovered the performance of the ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 sCMOS now is the time. What biological breakthrough will you make with your extra photons? FRAME RATE 100 FPS max @ full resolution DYNAMIC RANGE 37,000:1 READ NOISE 1.4 electrons rms minimum 100 V2 (2016) 80 QUANTUM EFFICIENCY (%) .015 13.312 X 13.312 0.5 2048 X 2048 6.5 PIXEL ARRAY EFFECTIVE AREA AIR COOLED W AT E R C O O L E D DARK CURRENT_ + V2 (original) 60 40 20 0 400 500 600 700 W A V E L E N G T H ( nm ) 800 900 1000 04 05 FRAME 01 CELL SIZE E X P LO R E M O R E W I T H C M O S Ready to make the jump from a traditional CCD to the increased flexibility and sensitivity of a scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera? With established performance and an affordable price, the ORCA-Flash4.0 LT fits into any experiment that needs simple connectivity, moderately fast frame rates, and great sensitivity. The ORCA-Flash4.0 LT is designed to bring all the advantages of sCMOS technology—wide field of view, low-light sensitivity, and large dynamic range—to every research lab. Easy connectivity and powerful performance help you explore your pressing biological questions. And when your green channel is screaming but your red is ho-hum horrible, the LT’s “W-VIEW Mode” in combination with the W-View Gemini (p.12) ensures more balanced exposure for reliably quantitative dual wavelength imaging. Think of all that LT can help you discover. FRAME RATE 30 FPS max @ full resolution DYNAMIC RANGE 33,000:1 READ NOISE 1.5 electrons rms minimum 80 QUANTUM EFFICIENCY (%) .015 13.312 X 13.312 0.5 2048 X 2048 6.5 PIXEL ARRAY EFFECTIVE AREA AIR COOLED W AT E R C O O L E D DARK CURRENT_ ORCA-Flash4.0 LT 60 40 20 0 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 W A V E L E N G T H ( nm ) 06 07 ImagEM X2 512 ImagEM X2 T H E L I M I T S O F SERIES ImagEM X2 512 Frame Rate: 1076 FPS MAX LO W What do you do when your light levels are truly low? How low? As in the dimmest of dim, just a few photons-of-signal-per-pixel dim with very little background. In these demanding situations EM-CCDs still shine. Why? It’s all in the EM-CCD’s larger pixel size and specialized architecture, which multiplies the weak input signal before it reaches the amplifier and the unavoidable addition of readout noise. The ImagEM X2 (512 x 512 pixels) and the ImagEM X2-1K (1024 x 1024 pixels), are ideal for applications like luminescence that require long exposures, big pixels and/or ability to analog bin. ImagEM X2-1K Frame Rate: 314 FPS MAX 100 QUANTUM EFFICIENCY (%) P U S H ImagEM X2 -1K 75 50 25 0 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 W A V E L E N G T H ( nm ) CELL SIZE 6.5 08 09 2 016 1.3 2 016 The Living Image C E L E B R AT I N G T H E L I T T L E T H I N G S I N L I F E Science is both beautiful and awe-inspiring. The images that are created in the process of scientific discovery astound us because of their significance and because of the raw beauty of life at the microscopic level. Although the images can and do stand on their own as art, there is a story behind every image. That story starts with a question. And, in the search for the solution, researchers encounter barriers at the bench that must be overcome. Eventually, the quest for answers is achieved leading to even greater possibilities. The Living Image is an evolving collection of these Bench Stories from some of the best researchers in the world, on topics from light-sheet of whole embryos to implementing in vitro-like diagnostics in vivo. We invite you to read their stories and hope you can experience the same thrill that we do at seeing discovery in action. And through the library of articles and interactive tools in the Resources section explaining camera technology, we hope to make it easier to apply your camera as part of the solution. And, by all means, contact us if you’d like to see your work as a Bench Story— we’d love to help you share the story behind your work of art. 10 11 M I S H A M I C H A E L D R E W SEEING THE LIVING BRAIN N. B. B. A H R E N S W I L L I A M O R G E R S T E F A N R. C. L E M O N P U L V E R R O B S O N B U R K H A R D J E N N I F E R M. K A T I E L I P H I L I P P H Ö C K E N D O R F J. K R I S T I N K E L L E R J E R E M Y M C D O L E B R A N S O N F R E E M A N P H I L I P P J. K E L L E R 01 THE QUESTION 02 THE BARRIERS 03 THE SOLUTION 04 THE POSSIBILITIES How does the brain work? Light-sheet technology Redesigning the imaging strategy Next generation light-sheet microscopy Scientists have been searching for answers to this question for decades. What’s been To acquire these groundbreaking images of the brain, Ahrens and Keller had to extend Advancing light-sheet microscopy technology required a redesign of the existing imaging The promise of light-sheet is real-time imaging of neuronal ensembles, allowing scientists missing is an actual image of the complete picture—the ability to directly view neurons the capabilities of existing light-sheet technology to speed up volumetric acquisition strategy. The team optimized the hardware components and configuration to streamline to probe functional patterns associated with sensory, motor and homeostatic behaviors. firing in a whole, living brain in real time. This view is exactly what the Keller Lab time. Fast frame rates are important for imaging moving, living systems, whether you communications throughout the microscope control system. First demonstrated in 2013, the Keller lab radically advances the possibilities in 2015 with delivers as they push the limits of light-sheet microscopy. are looking at an entire brain or watching microtubules dynamics. a multi-view hs-SiMView. In both systems, the speed of the ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 is essential. T E C H N O LO GY B A R R I E R S ILLUMINATION OBJECTIVE 2 DETECTION OBJECTIVE 1 SAMPLE Above: Ahrens et al. use wide field of view at single cell resolution, and imaging every 1.3 seconds to capture projections of whole-brain, neuron-level functional activity (reported by the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP5G in an elavl3:GCaMP5G fish via changes in fluorescence intensity (ΔF/F), superimposed on the reference anatomy). Above: The single view hs-SimView set-up. DE TE LIGHT SHEET 1 AND 2 (405-1,080 nm) CT IO N SAMPLE HOLDER DE TE ILLUMINATION OBJECTIVE 2 O N I AT IN M LU Z X CT IO N DETECTION OBJECTIVE 2 Communication speeds between existing hardware components of the laser illumination system limited image acquisition rate. Camera acquisition time of first gen sCMOS technology limited the rate of image capture. ILLUMINATION OBJECTIVE DETECTION OBJECTIVE SYNCHRONIZED PIEZO SCANNING DE TE FOCUSED LASER BEAM CT IO N Y Find details of this 2013 work by Ahrens et al. at DOI:10.1038/NMETH.2434 SAMPLE HOLDER DE TE SECOND ILLUMINATION OBJECTIVE OPTIONAL O N I AT IN IL M LU Z X Y New camera technology was needed to keep up with the faster image acquisition times. Camera: (2) Two Orca Flash 4.0 cameras were used SAMPLE The imaging strategy of physically moving the sample extended the total acquisition time of each plane to allow for setting. IL All images courtesy of Phillip Keller, Lab Head, HHMI Janelia Research Campus REVISED IMAGING CT IO N Faster image acquisition required the development of a more robust computational pipeline. Acquisition rate: 0.8 Hz (for a volume of the size 800 × 600 × 200 μm3) Changing to an imaging strategy that keeps the sample immobile reduced the need for extended settle times. For more information on this and other Bench Stories visit http://thelivingimage.hamamatsu.com/ Above: Functional imaging of the entire, isolated central nervous system of a Drosophila larva. Above: The multi-view hs-SiM view set-up. By taking a multi-directional approach and revising the optical, mechanical and computational imaging strategy, the new hs-SiMView achieves a 25x speed improvement over the 2013 version. Because of these enhancements, it’s now possible to perform functional imaging of non-transparent biological samples such as the Drosophila larva above. Find details of this 2015 work by Lemon et al. at DOI:10.1038/ncomms8924 MATCHED TO THE PERFORMANCE OF GEN II SCMOS CAMERAS CHROMATICALLY CORRECTED USER-DEFINED FILTER COMBINATIONS EASILY ALIGNED AND STABLE HIGH TRANSMITTANCE W-View Gemini G E T C LO S E R T O T H E B I O LO G Y Have you ever thought, “Optical splitters—great idea but so hard to use!” They hold the promise of more efficient multi-wavelength imaging, but need careful alignment. The slightest bump of the microscope table or stomp in the neighboring lab can disrupt the setup. The team at Hamamatsu understands how important it is for tools to get out of your way and just work. They’ve taken on the optical splitter problem and crafted the W-VIEW GEMINI. Optically and mechanically stable, chromatically corrected, with simple software-assisted alignment and flexible configurations, the W-VIEW GEMINI lives up to the promise of what an optical splitter should be. And when you don’t need a splitter, just switch to “bypass mode”—it’s as though there’s nothing between your camera and your microscope. Simplifying multi-wavelength experiments like FRET, the W-VIEW GEMINI gets out of your way to bring you closer to the biology. What biological processes will the W-VIEW GEMINI bring closer to you? Simultaneous Dual Wavelength Imaging 12 13 Relative SNR Relative SNR vs Signal @ 580nm 1.0 How can I easily compare cameras? Calculating SNR is a simple ratio of the total signal to the total noise. For microscope cameras, the equation looks like this: QE * S Fn 2 * QE * (S + lb ) + (Nr /M) 2 TYPICAL INTENSITY OF BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES 0.5 Perfect Flash4.0 V2 Flash4.0 LT CCD 0.25 Gen I sCMOS EM-CCD 0 1 10 100 1000 10000 INPUT SIGNAL PHOTON Relative SNR at 580nm. EM-CCD gain is 500x. Read noise: ORCA Flash4.0s = 1.4 e- rms, CCD = 6 e- rms, Gen I sCMOS = 2.4 e- rms. At 500x gain, EM-CCDs saturate around 1000 photons/pixel. Thinking in Photons Calculating SNR SNR = RELATIVE SNR 0.75 No single technical specification can provide all the necessary information to match a camera to an application. But when the quantum efficiency and noise characteristics of a camera are considered in light of the signal and signal noise, we can understand the theoretical limits of a camera under the full range of light conditions. These signal to noise (SNR) curves provide tremendous value in predicting which camera performs best for certain applications, assuming the light levels for that application are known (more on this later). To make SNR data even more approachable, a useful variation is to look at relative SNR (rSNR), where all data is normalized to an imaginary “perfect” camera that has 100% QE and zero noise. With this transformation, it’s easy to see that at the lowest light levels (less than 4 photons per pixel with 0 background), EM-CCDs achieve the highest possible SNR. And yet, above 4 photons per pixel, the 2016 ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 surpasses the SNR performance of the EM-CCD and exceeds all other technology, including CCD and previous generations of sCMOS. This SNR performance, combined with fast frame rates and large field of view make the ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 an excellent choice for most every biological application. How many photons do I have? QE=Quantum efficiency S= Signal (Photons/pixel/frame) Ib = Background (Photons/pixel/frame) Nr =Readout noise (e- rms) M =EM gain Fn =Excess noise factor (1.4 for EM-CCD; 1 for CCD & sCMOS) We capture images of light but rarely have any sense of the absolute amount of light that was incident on the camera. To get a useful estimate of your light levels, it’s possible to make a quick calculation. Gather this information: the pixel full well capacity and bit depth of your current camera in the mode you normally use to collect images and without gain. Divide the full well by the bit depth (e.g. 30,000/65536 = 0.46). This number is the conversion from grey level (gl) to electrons. Then, from one of your typical images (collected without any EM or analog gain), identify a pixel or small region of pixels that represents typical brightness. Measure the intensity of this area in grey levels and subtract the camera offset (average grey level of a dark image; e.g. 1100 gl -100 gl = 1000 gl). Then convert the grey levels to electrons by multiplying the intensity in grey levels by the conversion factor (e. g. 1000 gl x 0.46 e-/gl = 460 e-). Now you have your intensity in electron and can convert to photons by dividing by the QE at the emitted wavelength (e.g. 460 e-/.82 = 560 photons). This is a rough but reasonable approximation of how many photons per pixel were captured from your sample in your imaging system. 14 15 SPECS ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 USB 3.0 ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 With Camera Link Option ORCA-Flash4.0 LT USB 3.0 ImagEM X2 512 Product Number Imaging Device Cell (pixel) Size (µm) Pixel Array (horizontal by vertical) Effective Area (horizontal by vertical in mm) C11440-22CU sCMOS 6.5 2048 x 2048 13.312 x 13.312 C11440-22CU sCMOS 6.5 2048 x 2048 13.312 x 13.312 C11440-42U sCMOS 6.5 2048 x 2048 13.312 x 13.312 C9100-23B Back-Thinned EM-CCD 16 512 x 512 8.19 x 8.19 C9100-24B Back-Thinned EM-CCD 13 1024 x 1024 13.3 x 13.3 Dark Current (electrons/pixel/sec.) – Air Cooled Dark Current (electrons/pixel/sec.) – Water Cooled Full Well Capacity in electrons (typ.) Readout Noise (Nr) median in electrons (typ.) slow scan Readout Noise (Nr) rms in electrons (typ.) slow scan Readout Noise (Nr) median in electrons (typ.) standard scan Readout Noise (Nr) rms in electrons (typ.) standard scan1 Dynamic Range (typ.) 0.06 0.006 30,000 0.8 @ 30 fps 1.4 @ 30 fps 1.0 @ 30 fps 1.6 @ 30 fps 37,000:1 0.06 0.006 30,000 0.8 @ 30 fps 1.4 @ 30 fps 1.0 @ 100 fps 1.6 @ 100 fps 37,000:1 0.6 N/A 30,000 0.9 @ 30 fps 1.5 @ 30 fps 1.3 @ 30 fps 1.9 @ 30 fps 33,000:1 0.005 0.0005 370,000 7 8 @ 4x gain <1 @ 1200x gain Gain Dependent 0.01 0.001 400,000 8 3 @ 10x gain <1 @ 1200x gain Gain Dependent Peak Quantum Efficiency (QE) Quantum Efficiency (QE) @ 500 nm Quantum Efficiency (QE) @ 670 nm Quantum Efficiency (QE) @ 750 nm Noise Factor (Fn)2 (QE) 82% @ 560 nm (QE) 82% @ 560 nm (QE) 73% @ 580 nm (QE) 92% @ 580 nm (QE) 92% @ 580 nm (QE) 77% @ 500 nm (QE) 77% @ 500 nm (QE) 67% @ 500 nm (QE) 91% @ 500 nm (QE) 91% @ 500 nm (QE) 76% @ 670 nm (QE) 76% @ 670 nm (QE) 68% @ 670 nm (QE) 83% @ 670 nm (QE) 83% @ 670 nm (QE) 61% @ 750 nm (QE) 61% @ 750 nm (QE) 53% @ 750 nm (QE) 66% @ 750 nm (QE) 66% @ 750 nm 1 1 1 1.4 1.4 Minimum Exposure Time Maximum Exposure Time In-Camera Binning Subarray Maximum Full Resolution Frame Rate (fps) Absolute Maximum Frame Rate (fps)3 1 ms4 10 s 2 x 2, 4 x 4 (digital) Yes 30 25,655 1 ms4 10 s 2 x 2, 4 x 4 (digital) Yes 100 25,655 1 ms 4 10 s 2 x 2, 4 x 4 (digital) Yes 30 25,000 13.85 ms 5 2 hours 2 x 2, 4 x 4 6 Yes 70.4 1076 52.7 ms 5 2 hours 2 x 2, 4 x 4 Yes 18.5 314 Electron Multiplying Gain Analog Gain A/D Converter Interface Type Lens Mount N/A No 16 bit USB 3.0 C-mount N/A No 16 bit CameraLink C-mount N/A No 16 bit USB 3.0 C-mount 4 - 1200x Yes 16 bit IEEE 1394b C-mount 10 - 1200x Yes 16 bit IEEE 1394b C-mount 1 2.0 electrons rms, guaranteed. 2 If this value is greater than 1, multiplicative noise is present. 3 Using maximum binning and/or smallest subarray. 4 40 µs using internal trigger and subarray. 5 10 µs using external trigger. 6 8 x 8, 16 x 16 binning optional. 7 FWC in EM-CCD Mode. FWC for normal CCD mode is 140,000 e- ImagEM X2 1K 8 FWC in EM-CCD Mode. FWC for normal CCD mode is 50,000 e- 16 17 L I G H T- S H E E T CALCIUM IMAGING SINGLE MOLECULE FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY SINGLE MOLECULE FLUORESCENCE WIDEFIELD FLUORESCENCE L L I G H T- S H E E T FLOW A T T I C E L I G H T S H E E GFP T LIVE CELL FLUORESCENCE LIVE CELL FIXED CELL FLUORESCENCE R AT I O I M A G I N G LIVE CELL IMAGING FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY TIRF L BRET TIRF U M I N E S C E N C CELL SIZE BRET 6.5 L I G H T- S H E E T S T R U C T U R E D I L L U M I N AT I O N E PIXEL ARRAY 2048 X 2048 SUPER RESOLUTION IRDIC FRAME BLOOD FLOW EFFECTIVE AREA 13.312 X 13.312 SPINNING DISC CONFOCAL DARK CURRENT_ 01 AIR COOLED 0.5 W AT E R C O O L E D .015 THERE’S A STORY F U L L W E L L CA PAC I T Y PALM R A T II ON EILM NSG_ E CAT G R OI N TIRF f. 01 30,000 L AT T I C E L I G H T S H E E T SUPER-RESOLUTION S U P E R R E S O L U T I O CELL SIZE N 6.5 BEHIND EACH OF THESE IMAGES f. 02 PIXEL ARRAY f. 03 L O C A L I Z AT I O N M I C R O S C O P Y EFFECTIVE AREA BLOOD FLOW X E D C E L L QE @ 560 nm 82% QE @ 500 nm 77% F L QE @ 670 nm 76% f. 06 U O R E WHAT’S YOUR STORY? QE @ 750 nm 61% S C E N C E MINIMUM EXPOSURE TIME 1 ms MAXIMUM EXPOSURE TIME 10 s HIGH SPEED BRIGHTFIELD S PAC E I PEAK QUANTUM EFFICIENCY_ f. 05 LUMINESCENCE F 13.312 TIME SINGLE MOLECULE CELL 2048 X 2048 L AT T I C E L I G H T S H E E T A B S O L U T E M A X I M U M F R A M E R AT E 25,655 LIVE CELL SUPER RESOLUTION f. 41 FRAME 41 IRDIC L O C A L I Z AT I O N M I C R O S C O P Y L I G H T S H E E T M I C R O S C O P Y 18 19