SmartSPIM

Light sheet microscope built for intact tissues

With uniform axial resolution across the whole sample, rapid volumetric imaging, and a custom imaging chamber, the SmartSPIM light sheet microscope provides the accuracy, speed, and flexibility you need to generate the highest quality data. Unlike many light sheet microscopes, SmartSPIM makes no compromises on resolution or acquisition speed.

Light Sheet Microscopy - Highlighted pipeline icon

Chosen by leading research institutions

Uniform axial resolution across FOV

The SmartSPIM light sheet microscope leverages patented axial sweeping technology (Dean et al. 2015): illumination optics scan the beam while synchronized to the camera’s rolling shutter detection, providing homogeneous axial point spread functions (PSFz) across the entire field of view (FOV)

Left: The sample imaged without axial sweeping displays high axial resolution only at the center of the FOV, while the sample imaged with sweeping shows uniform axial resolution across the FOV.

Microglia (IBA-1, 647 nm) in cortex of a 7-month-old wild-type C57BL/6 male mouse from Taconic Biosciences, model #B6, 3.6X objective.

Customizable imaging chamber

Custom-designed imaging chamber and sample holders can accommodate a variety of tissue sizes, from organoids to rat brains, and even entire juvenile mice! With no points of contact between tissue and mounting hardware, the user can mount many sample types and sizes in different orientations.

Rapid, intuitive volumetric acquisition

Tunable imaging parameters allow for high speed volumetric imaging while maintaining quality resolution. 20 fps acquisition allows imaging of a mouse brain hemisphere or comparably sized intact sample in <30 minutes (at 1.8 µm x 1.8 µm x 4 µm voxel size).

Streamlined for efficient data collection, SmartSPIM’s acquisition software has real-time tile correction and is simple to operate, making imaging large samples a breeze.

Syto16 and vimentin in intact day 50 dorsal forebrain organoid
Syto16 (magenta) and vimentin (cyan) in a day 50 dorsal forebrain organoid from STEMCELL Technologies generated using the STEMdiff™ Dorsal Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kit (cat. #08620), 15X objective.

Learn how researchers leverage SmartSPIM in their labs

LifeCanvas Portraits: Dr. Sam Centanni

Dr. Sam Centanni uses the LifeCanvas pipeline to investigate the neurobiological overlap between stress and predisposition to alcohol abuse, as well as long-term effects of alcohol on the brain.

LifeCanvas Portraits: Dr. Mike Taormina

Dr. Mike Taormina uses SmartSPIM light sheet microscopy to rapidly image whole mouse brains, streamlining workflows at the Allen Institute.

LifeCanvas Portraits: Dr. Li Ye

Dr. Ye's lab at the Scripps Research Institute uses SmartSPIM to illuminate interactions between the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Technical specifications

More than a microscope – a complete solution

Tissue Processing

Prepare samples with tools for preservation, clearing, labeling, & sectioning.

Light Sheet Imaging

Acquire spatially informative images with innovative microscopy techniques.

Image Analysis

Generate publication-quality data with robust analysis tools.

Recent publications citing the SmartSPIM light sheet microscope

Phosphorylation of pyruvate dehydrogenase inversely associates with neuronal activity.

Dong Yang, Yu Wang, Tianbo Qi, Xi Zhang, Leyao Shen, Jingrui Ma, Zhengyuan Pang, Neeraj K. Lal, Daniel B. McClatchy, Saba Heydari Seradj, Verina H. Leung, Kristina Wang, Yi Xie, Filip S. Polli, Anton Maximov, Oscar Christian Gonzalez, Luis de Lecea, Hollis T. Cline, Vineet Augustine, John R. Yates III, and Li Ye.

Journal:
Neuron
Publication Date:
Research Area:
Neural Circuits, Neural Interfaces
Tissue Species:
Mouse
Tissue Type:
Brain
Products Cited:
SHIELD, EasyIndex, SmartBatch+, SmartSPIM, SmartAnalytics, CRO Services
Microglia regulate sleep through calcium-dependent modulation of norepinephrine transmission.

Chenyan Ma, Bing Li, Daniel Silverman, Xinlu Ding, Anan Li, Chi Xiao, Ganghua Huang, Kurtresha Worden, Sandra Muroy, Wei Chen, Zhengchao Xu, Chak Foon Tso, Yixuan Huang, Yufan Zhang, Qingming Luo, Kaoru Saijo & Yang Dan.

Journal:
Nature Neuroscience
Publication Date:
Research Area:
Neural Circuits, Other
Tissue Species:
Mouse
Tissue Type:
Brain, Heart
Products Cited:
SmartSPIM, CRO Services
Opioid-driven disruption of the septal complex reveals a role for neurotensin-expressing neurons in withdrawal

Rhiana C. Simon, Weston T. Fleming, Pranav Senthilkumar, Brandy A. Briones1,2, Kentaro K. Ishii, Madelyn M. Hjort, Madison M. Martin, Koichi Hashikawa, Andrea D. Sanders, Sam A. Golden, Garret D. Stuber.

Journal:
bioRxiv
Publication Date:
Research Area:
Neural Circuits, Other
Tissue Species:
Mouse
Tissue Type:
Brain, Heart
Products Cited:
SHIELD, EasyIndex, SmartClear, SmartSPIM

Speak to an imaging expert about your application

Further reading

LifeCanvas Portraits: Dr. Sam Centanni

Dr. Sam Centanni uses the LifeCanvas pipeline to investigate the neurobiological overlap between stress and predisposition to alcohol abuse, as...

LifeCanvas Portraits: Dr. Mike Taormina

Dr. Mike Taormina uses SmartSPIM light sheet microscopy to rapidly image whole mouse brains, streamlining workflows at the Allen Institute.

How to use the Allen Brain Atlas

The Allen Brain Atlas is an incredibly powerful tool for neuroscience research, enabling researchers to discuss their findings in a...

Header: tdTomato traces innervation in a whole mouse brain with attached skull and spine. Sample processed by Dr. Jun Takato, MIT.