{"id":11161,"date":"2024-01-19T08:33:28","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T08:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/?p=11161"},"modified":"2024-02-16T10:29:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T10:29:09","slug":"flashback-friday-spim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/blog\/2024\/01\/flashback-friday-spim\/","title":{"rendered":"Flashback Friday: EMBLEM and Carl Zeiss to make microscope developed at EMBL"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">EMBL celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024, and in so doing, we\u2019re digging through the archives for some fascinating stories from EMBL\u2019s past publications to republish in this blog.  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>The following is an EMBLetc. article from issue 26 in April 2005, accompanied by additional photos.<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A new high-tech microscope developed by Ernst Stelzer\u2019s group at EMBL Heidelberg will be made available to labs everywhere in the next few years. EMBL and technology giant Carl Zeiss have signed a licensing deal to commercialise the new technology, called SPIM (for Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ernst and his group developed the SPIM technology to allow scientists at EMBL to observe complex, three-dimensional processes in whole, living organisms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"vf-blockquote | vf-u-margin__bottom--600 vf-u-margin__top--600\">\n  <div>\n    <div>\n      <em>We were extremely pleased to have found Carl Zeiss as an excellent partner to translate this technology into a product.<\/em>    <\/div>\n    \n          <footer class=\"vf-u-margin__top--600\">\n      \n      <div class=\"vf-blockquote_author\">\n        \u2013 Martin Raditsch, EMBLEM Deputy Managing Director, 2004-2011      <\/div>\n\n      \n      <div class=\"vf-blockquote_author__details\"><\/div>\n    <\/footer>\n      <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"vf-figure wp-block-image  | vf-figure--align vf-figure--align-inline-end  size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"239\" class=\"vf-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/press04mar07_l-300x239.jpg\" alt=\"Male scientist sits in front of two computer screens and associated equipment related to SPIM.\" class=\"wp-image-11165\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/press04mar07_l-300x239.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/press04mar07_l.jpg 693w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEspecially today, it\u2019s important to study biological systems in their real context and to move away from \u2018flat\u2019 cell biology,\u201d Ernst says. \u201cThat\u2019s now possible thanks to the many methods available for fluorescent microscopy. The technical innovations we have introduced, including software developed by Jim Swoger to combine multiple images, will certainly be of great help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"vf-figure wp-block-image  | vf-figure--align vf-figure--align-inline-end  size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"vf-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2006SPIM3_20060918_0001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2006SPIM3_20060918_0001-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2006SPIM3_20060918_0001-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2006SPIM3_20060918_0001-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2006SPIM3_20060918_0001-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2006SPIM3_20060918_0001-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"vf-figure__caption\">(Above) EMBL Group Leader Ernst Stelzer with the SPIM technology. (Ernst Stelzer was a scientific group leader in EMBL\u2019s Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit for almost 28 years and is now a CEF-investigator in the DFG-funded Frankfurt Institute for Molecular Life Sciences  as well as a Professor at Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main.) The lower photo is a close-up of the technology.  From the EMBL Archive. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With SPIM, a sample is passed through an extremely thin sheet of light, capturing high-quality images layer by layer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe sample is kept alive in a liquid-filled chamber and can be rotated and viewed along different directions,\u201d says PhD student Jan Huisken. \u201cThis eliminates blurry and unwanted light, which prevented scientists from looking deep into tissues in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Image slices are captured and quickly assembled into a high-resolution, three-dimensional film. Because light enters the sample from the side (rather than the line of sight), it is possible to achieve high resolution in all three dimensions. Illuminating the sample from the same direction as the eye or camera, as was done in the past, meant that the image was blurry along that axis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ernst and his colleagues are developing fascinating applications of the instrument with Jochen Wittbrodt and other EMBL scientists.&nbsp; The presentation of SPIM at scientific conferences has generated a flood of requests for the instrument.&nbsp; Last month, EMBL Director General Fotis C. Kafatos, EMBLEM Deputy Managing Director Martin Raditsch, and Ernst met with Carl Zeiss\u2019 Executive Board Member Norbert Gorny and General Manager for Microscopy Ulrich Simon to finalise the details of the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe were extremely pleased to have found Carl Zeiss as an excellent partner to translate this technology into a product,\u201d says Martin. Carl Zeiss is equally happy with the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Ulrich Simon, \u201cThe products based on this technology will form a perfect match with our lines of confocal and multi-photo 3D-imaging systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"vf-figure wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"333\" class=\"vf-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0810_spim-zebrafish_02-m.jpg\" alt=\"SPIM image of fish that appears as blue with a skeleton and other elements highlighted in fluorescent green. \" class=\"wp-image-11171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0810_spim-zebrafish_02-m.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0810_spim-zebrafish_02-m-300x100.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0810_spim-zebrafish_02-m-768x256.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"vf-figure__caption\">SPIM image of juvenile medaka (2008). Credit: Philipp Keller, Stelzer Group\/EMBL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This article was originally published in EMBLetc., <\/em>issue<em> <\/em>26, April 2005. Find more stories about EMBL and SPIM <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/tag\/spim\/#\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Related links<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/lab-matters\/embl-and-zeiss-enter-long-term-strategic-partnership\/\">EMBL and ZEISS enter long-term strategic partnership<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/services-facilities\/technopolis\/luxendo\/\">Development of SPIM technology<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/1512-spim\/\">SPIM doctors<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/a-clearer-view-on-biology\/\">A clearer view on biology<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/lab-matters\/the-transparent-organism\/\">The transparent organism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/picture-release-3\/\">Picture release<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An EMBLetc. article from 2005 celebrates a new high-tech microscope developed in one of EMBL Heidelberg&#8217;s research groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":11163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10667,10671,10675,10669,10673],"embl_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-11161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-emblem","tag-innovation","tag-scientific-services","tag-spim","tag-tech-transfer"],"acf":[],"embl_taxonomy_terms":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SPIM-wp.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11161"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11883,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11161\/revisions\/11883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11161"},{"taxonomy":"embl_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/embl_taxonomy?post=11161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}