The same microscope can image larger samples, including a whole mouse brain (1 cm^3), and supports hybrid low- and high-resolution modes. Low-resolution imaging gives a full overview, while high-resolution mode enables multi-ROI isotropic submicron imaging on the same specimen.

The system also supports larger samples at higher RI (e.g., 1.56), such as mouse cochlea, which are dipped directly into immersion media to image neurites and reconstruct individual connections between spiral ganglion neurons and inner hair cells across the entire cochlea.

The microscope can image fragile samples like cleared zebrafish, RI-matched to 1.47 and held in a glass capillary, allowing isotropic sub-micron-resolution imaging of the vasculature.

We achieved isotropic sub-micron resolution with an axially sweeping light sheet running near the camera’s top frame rate. A high-frequency closed-loop system stabilizes the remote-focusing voice-coil motion, enabling 100 fps while preserving sub-micron resolution over a large FOV.

Unlike other light-sheet systems that use the remote-focusing arm only to sweep the sheet, we found it can also correct distortions such as field curvature. By using a concave instead of a flat mirror, we compensate curvature and expand the usable FOV across the full RI range.

Our microscope uses an air objective lens for illumination. To make the air objective suitable for creating a diffraction-limited light sheet in high-RI media, we use an off-the-shelf meniscus lens with a surface curvature matched to the NA of the illumination lens across all refractive indices.

Our compact, high-speed light-sheet fluorescence microscope is built from off-the-shelf optics to achieve 850 nm isotropic resolution for cleared samples up to 1 cm3, across refractive indices from 1.33 to 1.56.

Our image of a sea squirt oozoid (Thalia democratica) was selected as an Image of Distinction in Nikon Small World. Imaged with the Flamingo microscope by @metteh-thorsager.bsky.social at @biodev-vlfr.bsky.social in Villefranche-sur-Mer. Salp sample courtesy of Alexandre Alie.

nikonsmallworld.com/

For Zebrafish, we imaged vascular morphogenesis and the extracellular matrix with Vipin Balan, Joaquin Abugattas Nunez Del Prado, and Li-Li Li.

In Hydra, we visualized tissue dynamics during regeneration with Emma Martinelli.

We brought our Flamingo microscope to the light sheet microscope course in Dresden (#LISH25). We captured extensive time-lapse recordings and are excited to share highlights from our experiments with Hydra and Zebrafish.