DF-SCOPE™ — Multiphoton Imaging Package for Olympus BX51WI

DF-SCOPE™ Multiphoton Imaging Package

The DF-SCOPE™ from Sutter Instrument is a customer-inspired multiphoton imaging package for the Olympus BX51WI — the most widely used upright microscope frame in electrophysiology. Many laboratories already have a BX51WI in use for transmitted-light and epifluorescent imaging. The DF-SCOPE adds two-photon (and higher) imaging capability through a custom scanner mount designed specifically for the BX51WI, using the same optical and electronic subassemblies as Sutter's MOM® system. Standard microscope functions are fully retained after installation.

MOM-Derived Optical Design

The DF-SCOPE scan pathway uses Sutter-designed scan and tube lenses and a two-position mirror mount that allows instant switching between two-photon scanning mode and conventional widefield epifluorescence without realigning optics. The scan box interface is compatible with both Sutter's whisper-quiet resonant scan box and galvo-based scanners, including the RESSCAN-MOM. A breadboard format in the scan pathway provides mounting positions for additional photostimulation laser lines and Pockels cells.

Dual Detector Paths

A key feature of the DF-SCOPE is its dual detection pathway: one detector above the sample (epi-detection) and one below (sub-stage / trans-detection). In thin samples such as acute brain slices, the lower detectors collect photons that scatter through the condenser, substantially increasing signal-to-noise compared to epi-only detection. The sub-stage detector assembly is designed to work with a variety of Olympus condensers. Both paths use Hamamatsu PMTs with Sutter PS-2 or PS-2/LV dual-channel power supplies.

Software Compatibility

The DF-SCOPE is fully compatible with Sutter's MCS imaging software (including MScan with resonant scanning support), as well as widely-used multiphoton software including ScanImage 5.0, Helioscan, and MPScope. It is also compatible with the Sutter MPC-78 large moving stage platform and motorized focus drive for sample navigation.

Applications

• Two-photon imaging on an existing BX51WI rig — laboratories that already run slice electrophysiology on a BX51WI can add multiphoton imaging without purchasing a second microscope frame. Patching and two-photon imaging can be performed simultaneously or sequentially on the same preparation.
• Slice calcium and voltage imaging — the sub-stage detector assembly maximises signal collection from scattering brain slice tissue, making the DF-SCOPE particularly effective for population calcium imaging with genetically-encoded indicators (GCaMP, RCaMP) and for voltage indicator imaging where SNR is critical.
• Photostimulation combined with patch-clamp — the breadboard scan pathway provides positions for additional laser lines and Pockels cells, so targeted single- or multi-photon photostimulation can be added without disrupting the rest of the rig.