CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE AND 3-D GRAPHICS WORKSTATION

我们要求提供资金，用于购置 3-三维（3-D）重建和生物结构分析。 主要设备项目是激光扫描共聚焦显微镜（蔡司 LSM）和高性能3-D图形工作站（Silicon Graphics IRIS VGX系列）。 这些将是综合努力的一部分， 生物成像，这将涉及14个研究实验室在生物学 在加州理工的分部。 其中一组项目将利用共焦 研究单细胞、早期胚胎和其他结构的系统. 微观层面。 另一组项目将针对 生成宏观结构的三维重建，包括 猴子、人类和其他物种的大脑。 对于许多这些 项目，我们将能够使用商业软件， 图像分析和三维重建。 我们还打算开发 专业应用软件，但这项活动将不会 由所申请的资金直接支持。 促进和协调 通过这些努力，我们在校园里建立了生物成像中心。 这将是一个专业人员配备的设施，我们预计， 将大大提高效率，易用性和灵活性， 所要求的设备将被使用。

We request funding for the acquisition of equipment needed for the 3-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction and analysis of biological structures. The major equipment items are a laser-scanning confocal microscope (Zeiss LSM) and a high-performance 3-D graphics workstation (Silicon Graphics IRIS VGX series). These will be part of an integrated effort in biological imaging, which will involve 14 research labs in the Biology Division at Caltech. One set of projects will utilize the confocal system for studying single cells, early embryos, and other structures at the microscopic level. Another set of projects will be aimed at generating 3-D reconstructions of macroscopic structures, including the brains of monkeys, humans, and other species. For many of these projects, we will be able to use commercially available software for image analysis and 3-D reconstruction. We also intend to develop software for specialized applications, but this activity will not be directly supported by the requested funding. To promote and coordinate these efforts, we have established a Biological Imaging Center on campus. This will be a professionally staffed facility, and we anticipate that it will substantially enhance the efficiency, ease, and flexibility with which the requested equipment will be used.