The most important feature is the integration of a tracking/navigational system to guide image acquisition by instruments such as biopsy needle, laser fiber, cryo probe, etc.
Brightfield and cross-polarization photomicroscopy were conducted using a Nikon Eclipse E600 upright microscope (Nikon USA, Melville, NY) equipped with a Spot Slider RT digital CCD photomicroscope camera and proprietary image acquisition software (Diagnostic Instruments, Sterling Heights, MI).
Upon high speed image acquisition by the instrument, several fields of images from the individual wells were automatically merged using "Merge" command from the Adobe Photoshop Elements.
The median of signal and background intensities from the Alexa Fluor 555 and 647 channels were quantified using GenePix Pro 6.0 image acquisition and analysis software (Axon Instruments, Union City, CA, USA).
Determination of contact angles was performed automatically using a model OCA 15 Plus (DataPhysics, Filderstadt, Germany) video-based optical contact angle measuring instrument, allowing image acquisition and data analysis.
We adjusted the instrument for image acquisition of live zebrafish in microtiter plates.
Instrument control, image acquisition and processing were performed using the Image Pro Plus software (MediaCybernetics, Silver Spring, MA, USA).
For image acquisition a GenePix 4100A Scanner (Axon Instruments, Inc., Foster City, CA, USA) was used.
In addition, instrument specifications and image acquisition strategies might be optimized on the basis of simulated image analysis results, and new advanced data assimilation procedures could be validated with realistic inputs under controlled circumstances.
However, the image acquisition limited the application of this instrument and, at the same time, resulted in complexity and high cost.
