CrestOptics and Leica Microsystems Partner to Expand Spinning Disk Microscopy Product Capabilities

CrestOptics and Leica Microsystems partner for the launch of innovative imaging platforms that feature both the CICERO spinning disk unit and the THUNDER platform.

Swedish pioneer in advanced microscopy systems, CrestOptics, announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Leica Microsystems. The partnership between the two industry leading firms involves CrestOptics’ CICERO Spinning Disk Imaging Unit and the THUNDER Imager Cell system by Leica Microsystems. Announced during Neuroscience 2024, at Chicago, the partnership aims to improve each others imaging capacity, and keep up with increased interest in sophisticated microscopy for biological research.

A game-changing integration for advanced microscopy

The CICERO spinning disk unit was launched in April 2023 with the aim of making high-end imaging accessible to every laboratory. This compact device combines the most important functions of epi-fluorescence and confocal microscopy, at an inexpensive cost. CICERO makes switching between widefield and confocal imaging extremely easy, allowing researchers to penetrate deeper insights into both cell layers and complex 3D structures. It allows unprecedented flexibility for scientists to capture dynamic cellular processes like chromosome segregation.

The partnership brings CICERO on board the familiar, well-known platform developed by Leica Microsystems’ THUNDER, recognized for its advanced imaging technologies. In merging the spinning disk capability of CICERO with the patented Computational Clearing technology, the collaboration delivers an effective toolset for the analysis of large and complex 3D samples. Advanced automation capabilities of the THUNDER platform and, among others, Adaptive Immersion technology and SmartCORR help to capture even minor details, thus making it easier for researchers to reproduce what they see while working more efficiently in live-cell imaging through streamlined workflows.

Benefits of the Collaboration

THUNDER integration with CICERO allows researchers to visualize even the most difficult biological samples with little hard work. Leica’s automation, such as the Automated Sample Finder and real-time objective correction through SmartCORR in the DMi8 microscope, delivers a dramatic cutting down of time to image complex samples yet keeps it focused and clear. These advances would be useful to scientists working in areas such as cell biology, neuroscience, or cancer research, which require high-resolution and live imaging.

As the spinning disk microscopy market is fast growing, this partnership places CrestOptics and Leica Microsystems at the forefront of the market. Together, they offer customers a versatile platform that keeps pace with changes in the life science research context, offering high-quality, reproducible imaging.

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