SPINNING DISC CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY SYSTEMS (SDCM)

Spinning disc microscopy has advanced significantly in the past decade and now represents one of the optimum solutions for both routine and high-performance live-cell imaging applications. Spinning disc confocal microscopy technique uses a series of moving pinholes on a disc to scan spots of light. Since a series of pinholes scans an area in parallel, each pinhole is allowed to hover over a specific area for a longer amount of time thereby reducing the excitation energy needed to illuminate a sample when compared to laser scanning microscopes. Decreased excitation energy reduces photo-toxicity and photo-bleaching of a sample often making it the preferred system for imaging live cells or organisms.