- Life sciences
Microscopes
The challenge
Microscopy systems must meet increasingly complex requirements in modern life science research and education. Enabling high‑quality 3D cell imaging is critical for assessing cell‑to‑cell interactions in advanced biological studies. At the same time, systems must support a wide range of working distances to adapt to different stereo microscope configurations. Compact system designs are essential to ensure compatibility with diverse academic and laboratory environments. In educational settings, corrective lenses further enhances usability by allowing fast, repeatable adaptation to multiple users without manual reconfiguration.
Our solution
The Optotune tunable lens can be seamlessly embedded into stereo microscopes, enabling a wide range of working distances and supporting diverse microscope configurations. In scientific microscopes, they allow rapid focusing across multiple focal planes along the specimen’s vertical axis without mechanical movement, eliminating vibrations that can degrade image quality. With focusing time below 10 milliseconds, liquid lenses enable the acquisition of many high‑quality image slices to increase the resolution of time‑lapse imaging. Their compact form factor allows flexible integration — inside the objective, behind it, or within the tube lens of scientific or stereo microscopes — while minimizing space requirements. In academic microscopes, liquid lenses integrated into the eyepieces enable corrective lenses, ensuring fast and comfortable adjustment for multiple users.
Why Optotune for microscopes
No vibration induced by focus change
Fast refocus in a few milliseconds
Precise control of a large number of vertical slices
Compact size for real-estate saving
Flexible implementation of the liquid lens in the microscope
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Explore how liquid lenses can be integrated into microscopy systems, comparing non-telecentric and telecentric configurations to achieve extended Z-ranges or maintain constant magnification depending on application needs.
Videos
Integrating Optotune liquid lenses with cameras delivers fast, precise autofocus, compact designs, and vibration-free imaging for advanced vision systems.
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