Scanalytics Diversifies Its Camera Support

(FAIRFAX, VA - February 23, 1999) Scanalytics Inc. is now shipping acquire modules which support both the SPOT family of Cooled CCD Color Digital Cameras from Diagnostic Instruments, Inc. and the SensiCam High Performance Digital CCD Cameras from Cooke Corporation. Supported on Macintosh, Windows 95/98 and NT, these acquire modules are provided as part of ScanalyticsÕ image acquisition, enhancement, visualization and analysis software, IPLab . Providing added functionality for microscopy applications, these acquire modules for the SPOT and SensiCam cameras are a welcome addition to the long list of IPLab-supported devices.

Features of IPLab and its Acquire Modules
IPLab is a leading image processing laboratory software package, now available on Macintosh, Windows 95 and NT platforms. IPLab software provides scientific image acquisition, visualization, analysis and laboratory automation in a single package. Applications include microscopy, low-light imaging, biomedicine, astronomy, forensics, remote sensing and others.

IPLab enables users to acquire grayscale and color images from virtually any video camera, a variety of cooled CCD digital cameras and high-resolution flatbed scanners. The image acquisition operation provides live display for focusing, automatic exposure control, and multi-dimensional image capture. Users can even make a presentation-quality QuickTime movie of 3-D projections.

IPLab can display, process and analyze image data in seven different data types, including 4 dimensional data (x-y-z-t). Enhancement features include contrast enhancement, pseudocoloring, 2-D filtering, background subtraction, and multi-channel color overlays. IPLab users can also calculate integrated intensity, mean, min, and max values plus several morphometric parameters on object regions within their images.

IPLab enables users to easily develop their own scripts to control and program repetitive and complex protocols while saving time and increasing quality control. Users can easily assign functions and even macro scripts to their keyboard's F-keys. Using these IPLab scripts, a complex experiment that requires movement of a microscope focus motor, filter cubes, stage and shutter in a precise manner can be completed easily and accurately.

Features of the SPOT Cameras
Quickly and easily acquire images using IPLab and the SPOT cameras from Diagnostic Instruments, Inc. Popular for their functionality and price, the SPOT cameras are the first color digital cameras of their kind designed specifically for use with microscopes. SPOT cameras have three built-in color filters (red, green and blue), which each take separate images. These images are then merged to form the finished 3 channel color image. In conjunction with IPLab for Macintosh and Windows, the SPOT color cameras are well suited for darkfield, brightfield, fluorescence, polarized light and phase contrast microscopy image analysis.

Features of the SensiCam Cameras
The SensiCam High Performance Digital CCD cameras from Cooke Corporation are also now supported by IPLab for Macintosh and Windows. Noted for its readout speed, the SensiCam VGA provides a 640 X 480 image at 30 frames per second, while the ultra high resolution SVGA version digitizes an 1280 X 1024 image at 8 frames per second. With cooling of -15 and -12 degrees C respectively, both SensiCam cameras are ideal for low light fluorescence microscopy applications.

Other IPLab-supported cameras include the Orca from Hamamatsu, and the MicroMax, PentaMax, SenSys and Quantix digital cameras from Roper Scientific. For more detailed information on these and other supported hardware devices, contact Scanalytics' Sales Department at 703-208-2230.