Tracking Worm Movements Using Prior Scientific's Optiscan Motorized Stage System

Optiscan Motorized Stage System: Affordable Solution For Routine Microscope Applications
The OptiScan motorized stage systems provides an affordable option for users seeking an automated microscopy solution. Routine microscopy applications can be performed with much greater accuracy and speed without sacrificing either affordability and reliability. In the case of Dr. Wang and his application requirements, the OptiScan system was a perfect fit.

When Dr. Zhao-Wen Wang of the C. elegans Neurobiology Lab at the University of Connecticut needed a dependable and affordable solution for automating his research – the OptiScan system proved to be the ideal solution.

Utilizing the OptiScan controller (ES9XY), stage (ES111), and universal specimen holder (H473), Dr. Wang is able to keep a crawling worm centered in the camera imaging field. Once the worm is centered, Dr. Wang activates his Track-A-Worm software and compares positions of the worm over successive images, and uses this information to correct the stage position at 1-sec intervals. All stage movements are automatically recorded in a stage file, which is used in combination with worm image files in subsequent analyzes. Stage positions are corrected between intervals of image acquisitions. Thus there are neither blurred images nor discontinuities in the reconstructed worm path due to stage movements. The OptiScan controller, motorized stage and focus mechanism allows great flexibility and creates a powerful system tailored for Dr. Wang’s application.