Tested Hardware

Scanning hardware

All scanning hardware supported by ScanImage should work. Additionally, we can confirm that the system has been tested with the following:

• Galvo/galvo mode has been tested extensively using NI PCI-6110 and NI PCI-6115 acquisition cards. However, PXIe devices are recommended as they're easier to manage in a chassis. The PXIe-6124 has also been tested (summer 2017) but not all sampling rates supported by the card were available in ScanImage. There were other minor problems too. Contact Vidrio: this may now be fixed.
• Resonant scanning is known to work with an NI PXIe-7961R and both the 2-channel NI 5732 and the 4-channel NI 5734 digitizers.
• Both 12 kHz and 8 kHz scanners work. 8 kHz are recommended because of the larger field of view and slightly better image quality. The larger FOV means fewer stage motions and so imaging times do not increase compared with the 12 kHz.
• Of course PIFOCs (we use a P-725.4CDA) and Pockels cells both work.
• We use an NI USB-6343 to control the PMT gains. This works but we see the following bug: there is a rare chance that, when BakingTray is open, switching off the PMTs causes MATLAB to crash. We work around this by disabling PMT auto-on and having BakingTray issue the PMT off command at the conclusion of acquisition. We experience no problems or acquisition failures when working like this.

Lasers

BakingTray interacts with the laser to turn it off at the end of acquisition and stop acquisition if the laser fails to modelock. The system has been well tested with MaiTai lasers. There is a control class for Chameleon lasers, but this hasn't been well tested as of October 2017.

Motion control hardware

• X/Y stage control tested with PI V-551 (C-891 controller), PI V-508 (C-891 controller), the Newport EPS300 controller has been tested but the code has not been maintained since about 2016.
• Z stage control tested with ThorLabs DRV014 actuators (BSC201 controller), which works reliably with some minor hiccups sometimes occurring when connecting to the controller. Also tested and working is the PI L-310.20SD driven by a C-663 controller. Note the load restriction on the L-310.

Vibratome

Any vibrotome that can be activated using a TTL pulse will work. Control of the DC motor driving the vibrotome on the TissueCyte has been tested briefly but we prefer the Leica VT1000.