Request for Confocal/multiphoton equipment

描述(由申请人提供)：此申请是为购买具有多光子能力/单光子奥林巴斯FluoView 1000共焦显微镜的资金。该仪器将被安置在匹兹堡大学医学院的生物成像中心(CBI)内。这一核心设施的任务是向匹兹堡大学医学院内的所有研究小组提供全方位的光和电子光学、图像分析和形态测量方法。共焦显微镜是该中心提供的一项基本服务，该中心目前使用的核心共焦显微镜包括使用3年和2年的奥林巴斯FV1000、使用9年的奥林巴斯FluoView 500、类似使用年限的徕卡TCS SL和使用6年的蔡司510。申请这项申请的原因是：1：在中心内提供多光子显微镜；2：为了提供急需的仪器时间，CBI自16年前开始运作以来，已成为医学研究界不可或缺的一部分，目前参与了医疗领域内200多个PHS资助小组的研究项目，以及与其他部门和邻近机构的研究人员共同参与的PHS支持项目。现有的多光子系统是一个10年前自制的CBI系统，不能用作“核心”显微镜，因为它有一个手动调谐的激光器，并对早期的FV 300扫描头进行了重大改进。此外，由于该机构内由小灵通资助的用户基础不断扩大，缺乏可用的共同关注时间已成为该中心效用的一个主要限制因素，这导致用户相当沮丧。购买具有单/多光子能力的仪器将使个人用户能够更容易地使用多光子显微镜，并将有助于缓解目前用户对单光子共焦显微镜的瓶颈。公共卫生相关性：共聚焦显微镜和多光子显微镜促进了光学切片方法的采用，将其作为生物医学研究的主要工具。这项申请寻求资金，以便在匹兹堡大学生物成像中心内放置一台自动化的单光子/多光子仪器。这台仪器将是该中心现有的共焦显微镜的重要补充，也将是校园内唯一可用的核心多光子系统。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This request is for funds to purchase a multiphoton capable/single photon Olympus Fluoview 1000 confocal microscope. This instrument will be housed within the Center for Biologic Imaging (CBI) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The mandate of this core facility is to provide access to a full range of light and electron optical, image analysis, and morphometric methods to all research groups within the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Confocal microscopy is an essential service provided by the center, the current core use confocal microscopes within the facility are a 3 yr old and a 2 yr old Olympus FV1000, a 9 year old Olympus fluoview 500, a similarly aged Leica TCS SL and a 6 year old Zeiss 510. The reasons for this application are to: 1: Provide access to multiphoton microscopy within the Center and 2: to provide critically needed instrument time Since the CBI commenced operations 16 years ago, it has become an integral part of the medical research community currently participating in research projects with more than 200 PHS funded groups within the medical area, as well as in PHS supported projects with investigators in other departments and at neighboring institutions. The available multiphoton system is a 10 yr old home made system the CBI and is not useable as a "core" microscope as it has a manually tuned laser and significantly modified early FV 300 scanhead. Furthermore as the PHS funded user base within the institution continues to expand, and a lack of available confocal time has become a major limiting factor in the utility of the center, this leads to considerable frustration amongst users. The acquisition of a single/multihoton capable instrument will allow individual users more ready access to multiphoton microscopy and will help alleviate the current user bottle neck for single photon confocal microscopy. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Confocal microscopy and mutiphoton microscopy have facilitated the adoption of optical sectioning methods as a primary tool for use in biomedical research. This application seeks funds to place an automated single photon/multiphoton instrument within the Center for Biologic Imaging at the University of Pittsburgh. This instrument will be both a critical addition to the available repertoire of confocal microscopes within the center but will also be the only core multiphoton system available on campus.