Enhancing Imaging Efficiency through Automated Slide Scanning Image Acquisition - Title: Enhancing Imaging Efficiency through Automated Slide Scanning Image Acquisition Abstract: The McLaughlin Research Institute is requesting funds to purchase an APEXVIEW APX100 Benchtop Fluorescence Microscope and slide scanner as an integral core component of our imaging suite. The Institute’s mission to support researchers in addressing complex scientific problems in rural, aging communities is built on a legacy of innovative biomedical research. As the closest biomedical research institution to more than two thirds of the residents of Montana, we seek to bring science opportunities and discoveries to communities across the state while doing groundbreaking science. While the Institute has invested in high resolution confocal microscopy systems, these systems are older, and significant advances have been made in the optics and automation systems available. The existing microscopes lack critical features available in the new APX100 system. To address the lack of critical features, we propose funds to purchase a system that incorporates an automated full slide workflow, advanced deconvolution algorithms, enhanced z-stack acquisition parameters and large area tissue scanning features. The current acquisition processes create bottlenecks for the diverse NIH-funded projects at the Institute. The addition of this instrument would expedite research progress through reduced acquisition and processing time in both established NIH funded projects as well as new early-stage pilot projects from a recent partnership with the first medical school in the state. As the closest biomedical research institution, geographically, to most of the state, this resource would fill a technological void, substantially accelerating the progress of NIH funded projects. In summary, the APX100 will stimulate effective and efficient imaging workflows enabling advancement of NIH-funded projects at the McLaughlin Research Institute supporting scientific discovery in the understanding of diseases affecting rural and aging populations.
