XYZ Tracker
About the XYZ Tracker
Imaging freely moving or semi-restrained model organisms like C. elegans, drosophila larvae, and larval zebra fish is useful for many studies. Example applications include behavioral genetics, linking neuronal activities with behaviors, and probing responsive to stimuli.
XYZ Tracker keeps a specimen in the field of view and in focus. It uses ASI’s Tunable Lens and a secondary camera to gather images from different focal planes without moving the objective or sample. It then evaluates those images and automatically adjusts the XYZ axes. The XY and Z tracking can be enabled or disabled independently.
More Info
XYZ Tracker Features
- Tracks specimens like C. elegans, drosophila larvae, larval zebrafish, and other model organisms
- Continuous autofocus
- Bright-field and fluorescence imaging
- Z-axis clutch for easy switching between manual and motor-driven focus control
- Multiple tracking algorithms available (OpenCV’s Mean Shift, Optical flow and more)
- Micro-Manager based plug-in (Windows OS only)
XYZ Tracker Elements
XYZ Tracker consists of a software plug-in, a Tunable Lens, ASI”s XY and Z stages, and a secondary camera.
The Micro-manager plug-in is the heart of the XYZ Tracker system. Through it, the user can control the camera, tunable lens, and our XY and Z stages. Micro-Manager is a free and open source imaging solution with support for many cameras and microscopes.
ASI’s Tunable Lens system uses C-mounts to connect to the imaging camera and to the microscope’s photo port. The Tunable Lens is an important component of Z tracking, which is technically more difficult than XY tracking.