AFA Specifications


AFA - Advanced Fluorescence Acquisition Module for Image-Pro Plus
Manage all combinations of acquisition modes and image sets: Time, Channel (wavelength), Focus (Z-stack), and Stage Position Image courtesy of Richard Cole, Wadsworth Center. Click image for more detail.	The AFA (Advanced Fluorescence Acquisition) Plug-In module is for research microscopists who need to automate and manage complex acquisition setup parameters, user feedback display, and subsequent sorting into sets for analysis. Unlike other automation products, AFA becomes an integral piece of the analysis process, sharing information with all analysis modules. The nature of research is to push the envelope. What seemed impossible a few short years ago is now routine. Just getting an image digitized for a single time point, wavelength and stage position for a microscope, and available for processing was a major chore but Image-Pro Plus has alleviated the problems associated with optimal image capture. In the past few years a Z-series or time-lapsed movie added welcome dimensions for complex or changing samples. But a vast storehouse of information may be exposed when one is able to collect 6D and 7D image sets within a single experiment. A tool is needed to manage the acquisition of that information. AFA is that tool.
	ACQUISITION AFA is an add-on module that plugs into Image-Pro Plus and Scope-Pro®. It uses the microscope and peripheral control capabilities of Scope-Pro to configure the system for each image captured in the series. The user interface is laid out in a logical flow of work via tab dialogs from left to right. The acquisition parameters may be saved to disk or in a database, recalled, reported or accessed via macro programming.
	CHANNEL MANAGEMENT Using Scope-Pro configuration settings files, images can be directed to individual channels. While fluorescence wavelengths are the most common channel type, DIC, RGB and other modes can be defined. Descriptive input settings (e.g. Numerical Aperture or Refractive Index) are stored and can be read and used automatically with the SharpStack deconvolution and 3D Constructor plug-in modules.
	EXPOSURE Full exposure control is available individually across all channels. The user may specify a color composite to be built automatically as the image set is acquired. Convenient testing options ensure that no time is wasted in method development and an optimum image set is produced. For best results, background correction may be implemented.
	FOCUS Extended Depth of Field (EDF) gives the operator numerous options for control of Z-stacks that can adjust automatically over the run. A full stack can be returned for later deconvolution and rendering. Or a single best-focused frame can be returned. Stage drift can be corrected through tracking the best starting plane.
	STAGE Landmarks can be assigned and used for alignment or random location acquisition. Alternatively, a regular pattern (such as a 96-well plate) can be configured. Tiling may be specified to build large images from location acquisitions limited by field of view.
	TIME Specify the number of timed cycles at selected intervals or have the fastest cycle time calculated automatically. Once again, testing in advance ensures success of the run.
	PREVIEW Multiple image sets can take a long time to collect. You don't want to discover at the end of a run that the parameters weren't quite right. The preview function reassures the user that what is wanted is selected.
	SET MANAGER Organizing, extracting and displaying multiple image sets is a tremendous challenge. The elegant, simple interface of Set Manager unlocks the information within those sets. Use it to play a movie showing changes along any single dimension at user-selectable positions along the remaining dimensions. The currently active data set can be extracted as a separate sequence and stored in .seq or .avi file formats that can be shared with other software for presentation and reporting. It provides clear parameter display so the user may understand how the data was collected (or assembled from separate sources) and documented. Set information may be stored and recalled via a database or via files.

AFA - Advanced Fluorescence Acquisition Module for Image-Pro Plus

AFA - Advanced Fluorescence Acquisition Module
for Image-Pro Plus