Zeiss Apotome.2 Microscope
Contact: Elizabeth Kirby, PhD | Psychology | kirby.224@osu.edu
An essential aspect of repairing brain injury is quantifying tissue damage and recovery in experimental paradigms. Microscopy provides a powerful way to visualize the brain in situ using postmortem tissue sections. However, when imaging thick tissue sections, out-of-focus light can make images blurry, obscuring important details in the in-focus plane. Confocal microscopes address the problem of out-of-focus light by using high-precision lasers to create thin optical sections. While confocal technology provides excellent imaging, it is time-consuming, damaging to samples, expensive and high maintenance.
The Zeiss Apotome is a microscope that offers high resolution imaging similar to that of traditional confocal microscopy but in a fraction of the time and with less damage to fluorescent signal. The Apotome uses a traditional fluorescence microscope coupled with a hardware add-on (the apotome) and deconvolution algorithms to create high resolution z-stacks, yielding well-focused images through thick tissue sections. This process yields images 20-50 times faster than traditional confocal technology with only a small loss in resolution.
Olympus FVMPE-RS Multiphoton Laser Scanning Microscope
Contact: Karl Obrietan, PhD | Neuroscience | obrietan.1@osu.edu
The Olympus FVMPE-RS multiphoton imaging system is purpose-built for deep imaging in biological tissue, aimed at revealing both detail and dynamics. Innovative features for efficient delivery and detection of photons in scattering media enable high signal-to-noise ratio acquisition. This translates to bright images with precise details — even from deep within the specimen. High sensitivity is matched with high-speed imaging to capture rapid in vivo responses.
Shimadzu LABNIRS
Contact: Jennifer Lundine, PhD | Speech & Hearing Sciences | lundine.4@osu.edu
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging neuroimaging technology that optically measures brain function similar to fMRI (BOLD signal). Ohio State's LABNIRS device offers a powerful fNIRS system that allows investigators to study brain function during seated and standing tasks, at a patient's bedside, or on a sideline. Investigators can also study people unable to undergo MR imaging due to age, implanted devices, or other restrictions.
Closed Head Impact Modela of Engineered Rotational Acceleration (CHIMERA)
Contact: Olga Kokiko-Cochran, PhD | Neuroscience | olga.kokiko-cochran@osumc.edu
CHIMERA is a translationally relevant platform for human traumatic brain injury (TBI) research. CHIMERA was specifically designed to overcome many of the caveats that limit the translational relevance of most existing TBI models. CHIMERA's innovation lies in its ability to generate, in a biomechanically controlled and reproducible manner, a wide range of TBI severity with completely free head movement.