Figure 1
Schematic diagrams for in vivo two-photon microscopy using a novel picosecond pulse laser and a system to secure the head of mouse under standard upright microscope stage.
(a) Optical arrangement for the 1030-nm picosecond (newly developed) and 910-nm femto-second (Ti:Sapphire) lasers to be introduced into the microscope. The optical pathway from each laser is shown in green and red lines, respectively. The duration of an individual pulse of the 1030-nm laser beam was about 5 picoseconds (left). (b) The newly developed apparatus, with a horizontal adjustment mechanism, to secure the head of the mouse under an upright microscope stage. Three adjuster bolts are located on the adapter stage and a 35-mm disposable dish was mounted on the head of the mouse. The mouse head was suspended from the adapter stage by the 35-mm dish and the body was held under the stage by soft cloth. The stage angle could be manually controlled by adjuster bolt to ensure that the cover slip and objective lens were parallel, which would reduce optical aberrations.
