More about the microscope from the press release:

The low-maintenance light source with no heat build-up, the long free working distances and generous space for operation and the system’s high stability, create ideal conditions for microscopy with live samples. The Leica DM IL LED and the fluorescence variant Leica DM IL FLUO are exceptionally versatile and can be individually configured with a wide range of optics and accessories – advantages that are unique in this class of microscope.

The Leica DM IL LED is suitable for a wide variety of cell and tissue culture examinations in biology and medicine, for studies in development biology or micromanipulation all the way up to live cell experiments in transgenics or electrophysiology. The Leica DM IL FLUO variant offers versatile
application potential for fluorescence applications such as GFP labeling and can also be supplied with LED fluorescence illumination on request. Featuring an energysaving automatic shutoff, the compact illumination unit integrates a pre-centered LED with a lifetime of 50,000 hours – no more need for lamp change! The 10 watt power of the LED is fully converted into light.

The transmitted light illumination, optimized condensers and contrasting techniques are specially geared to cytobiological applications. All available contrasting techniques can be easily and quickly adjusted to individual requirements. The integrated modulation contrast (IMC) is a special advantage. This unique technique, further developed by Leica Microsystems, does not require special objectives. The microscope is highly compatible with components of Leica research microscopes. For the first time, condensers have been designed for the Leica DM IL LED that are suitable for all contrasting techniques. With its working distance of at least 80 mm and an aperture of 0.30, the S80 condensor gives the greatest possible amount of space around the sample whilst providing optimum contrast. The continuously adjustable condenser height offers unique flexibility when using peripheral microtools. With an aperture of 0.45 and at least 40 mm working distance, the S40 condenser enables particularly high resolutions – ideal for phase contrast and IMC.

Press release: First Inverted Routine Microscope with LED Light Source...

Product page: Leica DM IL LED

Now, Tomophase Corp. of Burlington Mass., is ready to take OCT to distant pulmonary recesses in the lung. Presenting at the CHEST meeting in Philadelphia, Oct. 27th through Oct. 29th, Tomophase will demonstrate their Investigational Airway & Pulmonary Tissue Imaging Systems, which consists of a flexible catheter that inserts through the working channel of a bronchoscope.

From the press release:

"Our goal at Tomophase is to use our proprietary optical technology to help clinicians image subsurface pulmonary tissue at a level of resolution currently unavailable, while not exposing the patient to potentially harmful radiation, UV light or contrast agents," commented Dr. Peter Norris, CEO of Tomophase. "Much of the structure in the airways beneath the epithelial layer is essentially invisible to clinicians. Providing real-time access to this information could provide major benefits to both diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to many pulmonary diseases. We believe this research collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess is an important first step in establishing the utility of this breakthrough technology in both research and the clinic."

The Tomophase system is designed to enable the high-resolution visualization of bronchial and pulmonary tissue cross-sections without biopsy. Its design features include:

Subsurface Microanatomy Visualization (within 2-3 mm)

Real-Time Operation

Micron Scale Resolution

Superior Image Clarity to other OCT Technologies

No Radiation, UV light or Contrast Agents

Sample Site Morphology Information Retained

Both Forward and Side Scan Imaging (in development)

Tissue Metabolic/Biochemical Information (in development)

Press release: Tomophase To Exhibit First Cross-Sectional Images Of Human Bronchus Using Proprietary OCT System...

Tomophase technology page...

Bottom image from Tomophase website: Normal human pulmonary tissue; field of view 1.5 mm x 4 mm.

In other developments from the company, we learned that Ikonisys will report today that its technology has been validated in a new clinical trial. Conducted by the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford University and published in this month's British Journal of Cancer, the study by Dr. Walter Bodmer, et. al. has shown that the company’s CellOptics® platform and the Ikoniscope® digital microscope offer a viable method for quick detection of circulating tumor cells in the blood.

More about company's technology:

The CellOptics® platform is the foundation for the highly accurate, automated diagnostic tests we offer and represents the fusion of cell and molecular biology, microscopy imaging, artificial intelligence and informatics. Ikonisys realized that none of these technologies could, by itself, satisfy the requirements for completely automated cell based diagnostics, and therefore created the CellOptics platform.

CellOptics provides the tools and protocols to create seamless, highly integrated procedures for automated and unattended cell based diagnostic products, representing a welcome new approach for a discipline that has traditionally required long training and tedious work by laboratory scientists, physicians and technologists.

At the heart of the CellOptics platform sits the Ikoniscope®/IkoniLAN® digital microscope system, which supports a broad spectrum of cell based diagnostic applications. Its exceptional sensitivity and speed make it particularly well suited for rare cell detection with dramatic implications for disease diagnosis, disease monitoring and therapy. Other elements of the CellOptics platform are proprietary processes and technologies including: cell enrichment techniques, staining techniques, specialized slides, antibodies and FISH probes.

Ikonisys...

Ikoniscope Digital Microscopy System...

oncoFISH® cervical product brochure...

Press release: Ikonisys Introduces Rare-Cell Test Designed To Determine Early Progression To Cervical Cancer...

Here's what UCLA says about the research:

First published in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal Lab Chip in 2007, the LUCAS technique, developed by UCLA researchers, demonstrated a lens-free method for quickly and accurately counting targeted cell types in a homogenous cell solution. Removing the lens from the imaging process allows LUCAS to be scaled down to the point that it can eventually be integrated into a regular wireless cell phone. Samples could be loaded into a specially equipped phone using a disposable microfluidic chip.

The UCLA researchers have now improved the LUCAS technique to the point that it can classify a significantly larger sample volume than previously shown — up to 5 milliliters, from an earlier volume of less than 0.1 ml — representing a major step toward portable medical diagnostic applications...

Ozcan envisions people one day being able to draw a blood sample into a chip the size of a quarter, which could then be inserted into a LUCAS-equipped cell phone that would quickly identify and count the cells within the sample. The read-out could be sent wirelessly to a hospital for further analysis.

"This on-chip imaging platform may have a significant impact, especially for medical diagnostic applications related to global health problems such as HIV or malaria monitoring," Ozcan said.

LUCAS functions as an imaging scheme in which the shadow of each cell in an entire sample volume is detected in less than a second. The acquired shadow image is then digitally processed using a custom-developed "decision algorithm" to enable both the identification of the cell/bacteria location in 3-D and the classification of each microparticle type within the sample volume.

Various cell types — such as red blood cells, fibroblasts and hepatocytes — or other microparticles, such as bacteria, all exhibit uniquely different shadow patterns and therefore can be rapidly identified using the decision algorithm.

The new study demonstrates that the use of narrowband, short-wavelength illumination significantly improves the detection of cell shadow images. Furthermore, by varying the wavelength, the two-dimensional pattern of the recorded cell signatures can be tuned to enable automated identification and counting of a target cell type within a mixed cell solution.

"This is the first demonstration of automated, lens-free counting and characterization of a mixed, or heterogeneous, cell solution on a chip and holds significant promise for telemedicine applications," Ozcan said.

Another improvement detailed in the UCLA research is the creation of a hybrid imaging scheme that combines two different wavelengths to further improve the digital quality of shadow images. This new cell classification scheme has been termed "multicolor LUCAS." As the team illustrated, further improvement in image quality can also be achieved through the use of adaptive digital filtering. As result of these upgrades, the volume of the sample solution that can be imaged has been increased, as mentioned, from less than 0.1 ml to 5 ml.

Press release: Better health through your cell phone...

More from MIT Tech Review...

Abstract: Multi-color LUCAS : Lensfree On-chip Cytometry Using Tunable Monochromatic Illumination and Digital Noise Reduction

Image: A new cell counter uses the imaging chip from a digital camera to record the "shadows," or diffraction signatures, from cells in blood and other samples. Simple algorithms allow cells to be identified and counted because each cell type has a unique signature. In this image taken with the cell counter, yeast cells are circled in blue, red blood cells are circled in red, and beads are circled in green. Credit: Aydogan Ozcan

Flashbacks: CellScope for Rural Microscopy On The Go ; Scientists Develop Compact On-chip Microscope...

Using CRi's Nuance™ multispectral imaging camera (shown on the right), the company promises a major advantage over purely visual analysis. Clifford Hoyt, VP and CTO at CRi says "Our system looks at samples with 10 to 30 different wavelengths, for staining of up to four proteins using different colors. With this technique we can 'unmix' multiple different labels (stains) from what would otherwise be a muddy mass of color...This shows us complex protein expression and interaction patterns in a single tumor section."

Describing breast cancer tissue as an example, Hoyt adds "(this)...might show us, for example, that 25 percent of cells express both ER and PR, 50% either PR or ER, and 25 percent neither. It is a quantitative read-out, so it provides a very specific molecular profile of the specimen analyzed."

It will also help to minimize sample selection errors, as traditional methods rely on individually stained samples, which may very well be taken from a region of the tumor that does not express the protein being stained for. Ultimately this will help target therapy...and individualize patient treatment.

CRi Incorporated Website...

Press release: New CRi instrument demonstrated: quickly examines multiple proteins in a single cancer sample...

A retrospective study of 167 patients who underwent radiation therapy for invasive breast cancer after surgical staging of their tumors, indicates that the tumors' physiological information shown on MRI scans correlated with surgically based findings of cancer having spread to lymph nodes.

Lead author Christopher Loiselle, M.D., a resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UW Medical Center, says, "... a contrast dye used routinely in MRI scans not only highlights the size and location of the tumor but also details the blood vessels feeding the tumor. The kinetics or activity of the contrast dye in the tumor provided some key parameters for comparing MRI to traditional surgical tumor staging".

The treatment of breast cancer has changed significantly over the past decade with more women receiving chemotherapy prior to surgery. Presently, post surgical treatment, such as radiation, is based on pathology results from surgery. Because these results may be affected by the chemotherapy before surgery, finding a way to stage breast cancer prior to chemotherapy and surgery may identify who needs radiation therapy and how much of it they need.

"MRI is evolving rapidly as a diagnostic tool for breast cancer, particularly among women with high risk for the disease, because not only does it give us traditional anatomic information about tumors but information about the biology of the tumor as well. Prospective studies will need to be done to confirm the value of MRI scans in staging tumors for radiation therapy," Loiselle said.

Press release: Breast MRI Scan Could Determine Need for Radiation Therapy

Image: mmmag

The FDA explains:

The Pathwork Tissue of Origin test compares the genetic material of a patient's tumor with genetic information on malignant tumor types stored in a database.

It uses a microarray technology to analyze thousands of pieces of genetic material at one time. The test considers 15 common malignant tumor types, including bladder, breast, and colorectal tumors.

"The clearance of the Pathwork test is another step in the continued integration of molecular-based medicine into standard practice," said Daniel Schultz, M.D., director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, which oversees medical diagnostics. "In the past, scientists have classified different types of cancers based on the organs in which the tumors develop. With the help of microarray technology, they will be able to classify these types of cancers in a standardized non-reader dependent manner based on the patterns of gene activity in the tumor cells..."

Pathwork's proprietary software converts the scanned image data to gene expression measurements. The gene expression patterns are compared with known gene expression patterns in the database that correspond to different tumor types.

The Pathwork Tissue of Origin test has been found to provide patterns that confirm existing tissue of origin of the 15 common tumor types using standard clinical and pathological information. This accuracy of this test is similar to that achieved by expert pathologists using current standards of practice.

To learn more about the test, head on to the product page: The Pathwork® Tissue of Origin Test...

Product brochure...

Press release: FDA Clears Test that Helps Identify Type of Cancer in Tumor Sample...

From the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge:

While current models satisfy the need for precision and reliability, their design falls a long way short in terms of ease of use. They are entirely thumb-operated and are known to cause cases of repetitive strain injury. The students have designed a comfortable, easy-to-use pipette, the Ergopip, which distributes workload to the user's fingers and is just as precise and reliable as existing versions.

The Ergopip...

Full story from The Engineer Online: Students design better pipette...

German Healthcare Export Group provides the details:

The Leica M205 FA and M165 FC stereomicroscopes are Leica Microsystems‘ latest addition to its innovative M series for demanding fluorescence applications in developmental, molecular and cellular biology.

Combining the revolutionary FusionOptics™ technology with the successful TripleBeam™ principle, the fully automated Leica M205 FA creates fluorescence images of exceptional quality. Used for the first time in the M series, FusionOptics™ (patent pending) takes advantage of a neurological phenomenon: The left beam path produces great depth of field, while the right beam path provides a high-resolution image.

The human brain itself then combines the best information from both channels, using it to compose an image whose resolution and depth of field have never been achieved in any stereomicroscope before.
With its fully apochromatic optics, the largest zoom range on the market (20.5:1) and the top resolution performance of up to 1050 lp/mm, the Leica M205 FA is able to show the viewer details that used to be invisible.

The TripleBeam™ principle, with its patented third beam path reserved exclusively for fluorescence illumination, delivers evenly illuminated, reflex-free fields of view at all zoom settings. Besides this, the FluoCombi III™ objective revolver features the unique capability to exploit all the advantages of both stereo and high-resolution micro-objectives on one instrument with a simple switch. It enables parallaxfree imaging from overview magnification to the finest detail. Time-intensive studies of living organisms and documentation of complex images series and multifluorescence images are made possible and instantly reproducible by motorizing focus, zoom, filter changer, iris diaphragm fluorescence intensity manager and microscope stage.

An external SmartTouchTM control unit ensures convenient control of all microscope functions using a clearly arranged touch display and freely programmable control buttons. The microscope is fully integrated in the modular software solutions Leica AF6000 E to AF6000. For documentation, image overlay and time series, the Leica AF6000 E is recommended as an introductory software package. This can be upgraded to the Leica AF6000 as necessary to suit applications ranging from multi-channel fluorescence, time and z series with parallax correction to 3D reconstruction.

The Leica M165 FC continues the tradition of high-quality manual fluorescence stereomicroscopes. With this microscope, the classical stereo-optics approach has been exploited to the utmost optical limits. The fully apochromatically corrected 16.5:1 zoom – combined with TripleBeam™ and FluoCombi III™ – guarantees high-contrast fluorescence images down to the finest structures of the specimen. Encoded zoom, iris diaphragm and objective revolver allow configuration parameters and optical data to be reproducibly read out at the computer.

Product pages: Leica M205 FA and Leica M165 FC

German Healthcare Export Group: Leica Microsystems Combines FusionOpticsTM with TripleBeamTM...

The team took five years to create the hand-sized filter, screening millions of small peptides to find one that had the strongest affinity for the prions found in contaminated blood. They stuck the best peptide onto commercial polymethacrylate resins, and then sandwiched these in alternating layers with a membrane

In tests, the disposable filter can clean the prions out of a single pack of contaminated blood in less than an hour. No prions remain in the cleaned blood, which is otherwise unchanged by the process. Tests with prion-infected hamsters showed that their filtered blood could be injected into disease-free hamsters with no ill effects.

The team hope that the UK's National Blood Service could be using the device by the end of this year. Peter Edwardson, ProMetic's vice-president of medical technologies, says that Ireland's clinical trial, aiming to confirm that the filtered red blood cells are just as effective as untreated blood when transfused into humans, should be complete in a few months.

More at the Royal Society of Chemistry...

ProMetic Life Sciences...

Flashbacks: Leukotrap® Affinity Prion Reduction Filter