Design specifications for an imaging core

[Martin Wessendorf-2]

Dear All--

Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and it'd
be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or WISH they
had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also be helpful to
know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)

One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold the
set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.

--My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with the
hits I'm looking for.

Thanks--

Martin Wessendorf
--
Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
Minneapolis, MN  55455                    e-mail: [hidden email]

[Phillips, Thomas E.]

When you buy a zeiss confocal, they send you a thick document with all the required specifications that they want you to sign off on assuring that you have them before they arrive. It includes the power, temperature, space type requirements. I would ask a zeiss rep for a copy of that document because it is probably similar for all confocals.


Thomas E. Phillips, Ph.D
Professor of Biological Sciences
Director, Molecular Cytology Core
2 Tucker Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211-7400
573-882-4712 (office)
573-882-0123 (fax)
[hidden email]

http://www.biology.missouri.edu/faculty/phillips.html
http://www.biotech.missouri.edu/mcc/


-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Martin Wessendorf
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 9:02 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Design specifications for an imaging core

Dear All--

Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and it'd
be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or WISH they
had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also be helpful to
know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)

One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold the
set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.

--My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with the
hits I'm looking for.

Thanks--

Martin Wessendorf
--
Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
Minneapolis, MN  55455                    e-mail: [hidden email]

[Julian Smith III]

Duct socks for the HVAC--they diffuse the air so there's no "blast".  
Don't forget to include both supply and return in any separate smaller
rooms.  We didn't, and later wanted to put up light-excluding curtains
on the entrance to the room. . .
Provision for exhausting heat from your lasers
Otherwise, central preparation facility with bench-top fume exhaust, and
separate rooms for TEM, SEM, Confocal and ultramicrotomes has worked
well for us.  Most of our non-confocal fluorescence 'scopes are in one
large room with workspaces separated by partitions and very dim ambient
light, but that's legacy-the room used to be a very large darkroom for
photographic printing.
However hard you try, you will specify something, that, in hindsight,
was a waste of money.  Our printing darkroom was spectacularly useful
for 5 years (new in 1999), and was gradually overtaken by digital
imaging.... We surplused a 5-year-old temperature-controlled Kreonite
sink, a new autododging enlarger, etc, etc.
Julian

Martin Wessendorf wrote:

> Dear All--
>
> Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and it'd
> be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or WISH
> they had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also be
> helpful to know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)
>
> One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
> really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
> blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
> However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
> other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold
> the set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.
>
> --My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
> recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with the
> hits I'm looking for.
>
> Thanks--
>
> Martin Wessendorf

--
Julian P.S. Smith III
Director, Winthrop Microscopy Facility
Dept. of Biology
Winthrop University
520 Cherry Rd.
Rock Hill, SC  29733

803-323-2111 x6427 (vox)
803-323-3448 (fax)
803-524-2347 (cell)

[Nessler, Randy A]

Just a word of caution: the suggested space type requirements/room size
in the document is probably a MINIMUM for the system and some might feel
claustrophobic if you follow those guidelines, so just a word of
warning.  Been there, did that, oops.

Randy Nessler
University of Iowa

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
On Behalf Of Phillips, Thomas E.
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 9:06 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: Design specifications for an imaging core

When you buy a zeiss confocal, they send you a thick document with all
the required specifications that they want you to sign off on assuring
that you have them before they arrive. It includes the power,
temperature, space type requirements. I would ask a zeiss rep for a copy
of that document because it is probably similar for all confocals.


Thomas E. Phillips, Ph.D
Professor of Biological Sciences
Director, Molecular Cytology Core
2 Tucker Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211-7400
573-882-4712 (office)
573-882-0123 (fax)
[hidden email]

http://www.biology.missouri.edu/faculty/phillips.html
http://www.biotech.missouri.edu/mcc/


-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
On Behalf Of Martin Wessendorf
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 9:02 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Design specifications for an imaging core

Dear All--

Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and it'd
be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or WISH they
had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also be helpful to
know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)

One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold the
set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.

--My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with the
hits I'm looking for.

Thanks--

Martin Wessendorf
--
Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
Minneapolis, MN  55455                    e-mail: [hidden email]

[Vladimir Ghukasyan-2]

Dear List,

In regards to that issue I have a couple of somewhat specific questions:

1. What design of deflectors for HVAC exhaust do you put for even air
distribution? Is it possible to get any pictures?
2. Which company/material provider did you apply for the dark curtains?

Thank you in advance,
Vladimir


On Wed, May 5, 2010 at 10:17 AM, Nessler, Randy A
<[hidden email]> wrote:

> Just a word of caution: the suggested space type requirements/room size
> in the document is probably a MINIMUM for the system and some might feel
> claustrophobic if you follow those guidelines, so just a word of
> warning.  Been there, did that, oops.
>
> Randy Nessler
> University of Iowa
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Phillips, Thomas E.
> Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 9:06 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: Design specifications for an imaging core
>
> When you buy a zeiss confocal, they send you a thick document with all
> the required specifications that they want you to sign off on assuring
> that you have them before they arrive. It includes the power,
> temperature, space type requirements. I would ask a zeiss rep for a copy
> of that document because it is probably similar for all confocals.
>
>
> Thomas E. Phillips, Ph.D
> Professor of Biological Sciences
> Director, Molecular Cytology Core
> 2 Tucker Hall
> University of Missouri
> Columbia, MO 65211-7400
> 573-882-4712 (office)
> 573-882-0123 (fax)
> [hidden email]
>
> http://www.biology.missouri.edu/faculty/phillips.html
> http://www.biotech.missouri.edu/mcc/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Martin Wessendorf
> Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 9:02 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Design specifications for an imaging core
>
> Dear All--
>
> Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and it'd
> be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or WISH they
> had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also be helpful to
> know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)
>
> One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
> really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
> blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
> However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
> other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold the
> set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.
>
> --My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
> recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with the
> hits I'm looking for.
>
> Thanks--
>
> Martin Wessendorf
> --
> Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
> Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
> University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
> 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
> Minneapolis, MN  55455                    e-mail: [hidden email]
>

[Peter Gabriel Pitrone]

Hello Martin,

> we really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series

What about designing the air conditioning to blow from the sides or corners of the room at knee to waist level instead of from the top? Duct socks are a good idea to have in either case. And maybe you could get a rainbow vacuum cleaner (in each room?) for cleaning the air of dust particles and other debris (http://www.rainbowsystem.com/rainbowsystem/main/?lg=english).

Happy Imaging!!!

Pete

P.S. I am NOT an evil door to door sales man selling snake oil (or vacuums for that matter), and I don't have any commercial interest in this product (although I do have personal interest).


On May 5, 2010, at 16:01 PM, Martin Wessendorf wrote:

> Dear All--
>
> Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and it'd be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or WISH they had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also be helpful to know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)
>
> One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series. However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold the set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.
>
> --My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with the hits I'm looking for.
>
> Thanks--
>
> Martin Wessendorf
> --
> Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
> Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
> University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
> 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
> Minneapolis, MN  55455                    e-mail: [hidden email]

[Peter Humphreys]

I hate curtains. I have partitions,  6 feet high to divide the room into
bays which allow the air to circulate to the 'air conditioning'. It is
ok unless we need the lights on in a bay. We can also rearrange the
partitions if new kit arrives, etc. Hot air extracts through the wall
help keep the temperature stable. There is never enough space, being
able to get behind equipment can be handy, better than crawling under or
reaching over.
Closing doors seem to cause vibration, especially with modern drywall.
The Patterson Institute in Manchester has some info online about their
design  http://www.paterson.man.ac.uk/imaging/lab.stm

Peter




On Wed, 2010-05-05 at 09:01 -0500, Martin Wessendorf wrote:

> Dear All--
>
> Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and it'd
> be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or WISH they
> had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also be helpful to
> know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)
>
> One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
> really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
> blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
> However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
> other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold the
> set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.
>
> --My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
> recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with the
> hits I'm looking for.
>
> Thanks--
>
> Martin Wessendorf

[Boswell, Carl A - (cboswell)]

Answers depend on what you are going to put in the room and how big the room
is.  If the room is big and more than one imaging system is in it, then
curtains may be required.  Curtains are primarily a problem if they are
between the vents and the system; something that the HVAC folks can deal
with.  If the imaging system is a turnkey system, then most of the
heating/cooling issues can be settled with 1) getting total heat output
(watts) from the vendor, then having the HVAC facility make sure the room
has the air exchange capacity and 2) putting an environmental chamber around
the microscope to keep any breezes off the instrument.

We did have some issues with the air flow locally altering the temp of the
optics table that one system is on, causing misalignments and variable light
output to the specimen.  We eventually got some tarps and draped them over a
scaffolding to block the direct air flow.  The only thing missing were a few
old tires to hold it all down.  This microscope has a light-tight box around
it so the optics are stable, and there have been no issues with overheating
as of yet.  One of the nice features of this custom system is that all
computers, UPS devices, chillers, power units are in an electronics cabinet
that is directly vented to the ceiling vent using a custom-built box that
still allows the vent to work  normally.  This clears a lot of heat that
never makes it to the room, per se.  On another turnkey system, the laser
box (4 lasers) are directly vented, via a flexible hose, to the ventilation
system, again avoiding heat escaping into the room.

I second the comment that providing enough room to get behind hardware is
important.

C

Carl A. Boswell, Ph.D.
Molecular and Cellular Biology
University of Arizona
520-954-7053
FAX [phone]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: Design specifications for an imaging core

>I hate curtains. I have partitions,  6 feet high to divide the room into
> bays which allow the air to circulate to the 'air conditioning'. It is
> ok unless we need the lights on in a bay. We can also rearrange the
> partitions if new kit arrives, etc. Hot air extracts through the wall
> help keep the temperature stable. There is never enough space, being
> able to get behind equipment can be handy, better than crawling under or
> reaching over.
> Closing doors seem to cause vibration, especially with modern drywall.
> The Patterson Institute in Manchester has some info online about their
> design  http://www.paterson.man.ac.uk/imaging/lab.stm
>
> Peter
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, 2010-05-05 at 09:01 -0500, Martin Wessendorf wrote:
>> Dear All--
>>
>> Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and it'd
>> be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or WISH they
>> had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also be helpful to
>> know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)
>>
>> One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
>> really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
>> blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
>> However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
>> other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold the
>> set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.
>>
>> --My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
>> recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with the
>> hits I'm looking for.
>>
>> Thanks--
>>
>> Martin Wessendorf
>

[Martin Spitaler]

Dear Martin,

 after looking long and hard for adequate air conditioning in our small
rooms without creating an air blast, we ended up with a solution seen in our
server rooms: A raised floor and the cooling box next door, cold air comes
up from the floor through grilles that can be places anywhere in the room.
Due to the large area of grills, the air never blows out of any of them.
Room temperature stability is very good, and despite early worries we rarely
had vibration problems. The floor tiles are ~6cm thick and very stable
(servers weigh over a ton per square metre).

Good luck,

Martin
############################
Martin Spitaler, PhD

FILM - Facility for Imaging by Light Microscopy
- Facility Manager -
Sir Alexander Fleming Building, desk 401
Imperial College London / South Kensington
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2AZ
UK

Tel. [phone]
E-mail [hidden email]
Website: http://imperial.ac.uk/imagingfacility 

On Wed, 5 May 2010 09:01:36 -0500, Martin Wessendorf <[hidden email]> wrote:

>Dear All--
>
>Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and it'd
>be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or WISH they
>had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also be helpful to
>know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)
>
>One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
>really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
>blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
>However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
>other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold the
>set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.
>
>--My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
>recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with the
>hits I'm looking for.
>
>Thanks--
>
>Martin Wessendorf
>--
>Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
>Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
>University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
>6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
>Minneapolis, MN  55455                    e-mail: [hidden email]

[George McNamara]

Hi Martin,

In addition to the items mentioned by others ...

* fluorescence microscopy should be done in semi-darkness - the
overhead fluorescent lighting is mostly useful to find stuff that has
fallen on the floor

* track lights, with yellow or orange filters, for each station, with
dimmer switch near where each light is being aimed at. Several
independent lights per station - one for each side of scope, plus one
for keyboard and notebook area(s), one for any prep bench.

* lasers - I believe lasers are best kept in a cool room, 20 C.
Unfortunately, many users find 20 C cold (not perfectly correlated to
body mass index, but not bad approximation). Might be a bit less of
an issue when the lasers are in their own cooling box. Your field
service engineers may not like this but one option is to put the
lasers in an adjacent room, with its own cooling.

* multiphoton microscope - "do not look at laser with remaining eye"
- MP lasers and potentially high power CW lasers (especially if
EasySTED is implemented on everyone's current generation confocal's -
PubMed 20173926) have the potential to end up in someone's eye. this
would be bad. Whether curtains, baffles, or (dare I imagine it?) well
trained users, you want to avoid blinding someone. See the laser ->
eye damage track record at US DoE national physics labs for proof
that this is an issue.

* lots of power on the walls, and the right kind of power (i.e. 220 V
for certain confocal systems). Come to think of it, the laser room
would also be a great place for one or more big UPS's for the
facility (for one thing, help reduce noise - see also next item).

*** Don't forget about VIP tours! For one thing, this amply justifies
big flat screen monitor(s) at each station. Also, that the rooms be
designed to be quiet - HVAC is especially a problem here - most
research labs are very noisy.

Best wishes,

George


At 10:01 AM 5/5/2010, you wrote:

>Dear All--
>
>Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and
>it'd be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or
>WISH they had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also
>be helpful to know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)
>
>One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
>really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
>blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
>However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
>other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold
>the set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.
>
>--My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
>recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with
>the hits I'm looking for.
>
>Thanks--
>
>Martin Wessendorf
>--
>Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
>Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
>University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
>6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
>Minneapolis, MN  55455                    e-mail: [hidden email]

George McNamara, Ph.D.
Image Core Manager
Analytical Imaging Core Facility
University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
Miami, FL 33136
[hidden email]
[hidden email]
305-243-8436 office
http://www.sylvester.org/AICF (Analytical Imaging Core Facility)
http://www.sylvester.org/AICF/pubspectra.zip (the entire 2000+
spectra .xlsx file is in the zip file)
http://home.earthlink.net/~geomcnamara

[Hu Xian]

Dear Ian,

We just move into our new microscope room this Feb... It was a bit over kill, but in the end we are rather happy with it.

Here’s what we did and our considerations, roughly,

1. Partition : We have one big room, and 11/12 microscopes. So we planned to have partitions(one of the early design figure :http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/206/foodprintv5copy.jpg). Rooms are separated by panels (that’s light proof and sound proof) rather than curtains as the room is a 10K clean room. Each partition has 14 standard power point, 1 three phase power point, two internet port, two intranet port, centralized 100% CO2 distributor and independent light control. Cubicles are painted black, as black as possible.
2. General Room Specification: 10K clean room, 0.2um HEPA filter, temperature 22 degrees +/-1(24/7)(heat load is measured by actual power consumption of each system), humidity 55% +/-5%(24/7).
   

And the pics /details of the outcome:

1. Shoe shelf at entrance: http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/249/004mzb.jpg
2. Central Island is illuminated all the time, for simple sample prep: http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/1339/005oo.jpg
3. Room Panels: http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/7631/006jqi.jpg
4. All Black: http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/6435/007gmh.jpg
5. Dry cabinet is still needed: http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8225/008wd.jpg
   

Tips:  

Discuss with vendors and staff/student who’s going to use the microscopes, as much as you can, there is always things that you will miss out, there is always things that you forget to consider.

No matter what your final plan is, if it involves major construction or re-construction. Check back to contractors regularly while the room is being build, they miss out things, a lot of things.




Hope it helps.

Thanks.

Regards,
HU Xian,Edna



On 5/8/10 10:02 PM, "George McNamara" <geomcnamara@...> wrote:

Hi Martin,

In addition to the items mentioned by others ...

* fluorescence microscopy should be done in semi-darkness - the
overhead fluorescent lighting is mostly useful to find stuff that has
fallen on the floor

* track lights, with yellow or orange filters, for each station, with
dimmer switch near where each light is being aimed at. Several
independent lights per station - one for each side of scope, plus one
for keyboard and notebook area(s), one for any prep bench.

* lasers - I believe lasers are best kept in a cool room, 20 C.
Unfortunately, many users find 20 C cold (not perfectly correlated to
body mass index, but not bad approximation). Might be a bit less of
an issue when the lasers are in their own cooling box. Your field
service engineers may not like this but one option is to put the
lasers in an adjacent room, with its own cooling.

* multiphoton microscope - "do not look at laser with remaining eye"
- MP lasers and potentially high power CW lasers (especially if
EasySTED is implemented on everyone's current generation confocal's -
PubMed 20173926) have the potential to end up in someone's eye. this
would be bad. Whether curtains, baffles, or (dare I imagine it?) well
trained users, you want to avoid blinding someone. See the laser ->
eye damage track record at US DoE national physics labs for proof
that this is an issue.

* lots of power on the walls, and the right kind of power (i.e. 220 V
for certain confocal systems). Come to think of it, the laser room
would also be a great place for one or more big UPS's for the
facility (for one thing, help reduce noise - see also next item).

*** Don't forget about VIP tours! For one thing, this amply justifies
big flat screen monitor(s) at each station. Also, that the rooms be
designed to be quiet - HVAC is especially a problem here - most
research labs are very noisy.

Best wishes,

George


At 10:01 AM 5/5/2010, you wrote:
>Dear All--
>
>Some space here is being remodeled for use as an imaging core and
>it'd be helpful to know what other institutions have specified (or
>WISH they had specified) as requirements for the space.  (It'd also
>be helpful to know what people think, in retrospect, was a waste of money.)
>
>One thing that particularly concerns me is temperature stability--we
>really don't want 5-degree C air from the air-conditioning system
>blasting down onto a microscope that's in the middle of a z-series.
>However, I can only guess at the limits of acceptability.  What have
>other groups specified and found works?  I expect that saying "hold
>the set-point +/- 0 degrees" isn't going to be helpful to the contractor.
>
>--My recollection is that the list has covered similar topics in the
>recent past, but the search terms I've tried aren't coming up with
>the hits I'm looking for.
>
>Thanks--
>
>Martin Wessendorf
>--
>Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
>Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
>University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
>6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
>Minneapolis, MN  55455                    e-mail: martinw@...







George McNamara, Ph.D.
Image Core Manager
Analytical Imaging Core Facility
University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
Miami, FL 33136
gmcnamara@...
geomcnamara@...
305-243-8436 office
http://www.sylvester.org/AICF (Analytical Imaging Core Facility)
http://www.sylvester.org/AICF/pubspectra.zip (the entire 2000+
spectra .xlsx file is in the zip file)
http://home.earthlink.net/~geomcnamara

Best Regards,

HU Xian,Edna

Microscopy Core Manager, Research Centre of Excellence in Mechanobiology
Temasek Laboratories, Level 5 ,5A, Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117411, DID:6601-1282, Email:edna@...

[Martin Wessendorf-2]

Thanks to everyone who's responded so far.  Even if you don't run an
imaging core, you probably have noticed design features that would be
good to have or things that don't work.  Feel free to speak up.

Martin Wessendorf
--
Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
Minneapolis, MN  55455                    e-mail: [hidden email]

[Craig Brideau]

On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 8:02 AM, George McNamara
<[hidden email]> wrote:
> * fluorescence microscopy should be done in semi-darkness - the overhead
> fluorescent lighting is mostly useful to find stuff that has fallen on the
> floor

I agree.  In one of our inverted systems the condenser on top does a
lovely job of focusing the overhead lighting onto the sample when you
don't want it to. @:-)  It adds significant noise to our confocal
images so the lights directly over the microscope are turned off.  We
have offset lights that are outside the angle of acceptance of the
condenser.  This allows dim lighting in the area without the light
getting into the microscope.

> * lasers - I believe lasers are best kept in a cool room, 20 C.
> Unfortunately, many users find 20 C cold (not perfectly correlated to body
> mass index, but not bad approximation). Might be a bit less of an issue when
> the lasers are in their own cooling box. Your field service engineers may
> not like this but one option is to put the lasers in an adjacent room, with
> its own cooling.

Our users wear sweaters under their lab coats. @:-)  21 or 22 C is
usually good enough for the lasers without completely freezing the
user.

> * multiphoton microscope - "do not look at laser with remaining eye" - MP
> lasers and potentially high power CW lasers (especially if EasySTED is
> implemented on everyone's current generation confocal's - PubMed 20173926)
> have the potential to end up in someone's eye. this would be bad. Whether
> curtains, baffles, or (dare I imagine it?) well trained users, you want to
> avoid blinding someone. See the laser -> eye damage track record at US DoE
> national physics labs for proof that this is an issue.

Training is key.  We also step the power of our laser down early in
the optical path so any potentially exposed beam is not enough to burn
things/start fires.


> * lots of power on the walls, and the right kind of power (i.e. 220 V for
> certain confocal systems). Come to think of it, the laser room would also be
> a great place for one or more big UPS's for the facility (for one thing,
> help reduce noise - see also next item).

You can never have enough power outlets.  I agree that having 220 here
and there is also very handy.  We have one laser system that could be
configured at purchase to run either from 120 or 220 and it is placed
in a spot where either socket was available.  We configured it to run
at 220 so that we wouldn't load down our available 120 line.  This
left the 120 free for the microscope hardware with plenty of amps to
spare.

> *** Don't forget about VIP tours! For one thing, this amply justifies big
> flat screen monitor(s) at each station. Also, that the rooms be designed to
> be quiet - HVAC is especially a problem here - most research labs are very
> noisy.

I've taken to placing two monitors at each workstation.  One large
widescreen for displaying images, then a smaller (i.e. cheaper)
secondary monitor for things like displaying buttons and controls.
Note that not all vendor software will support multiple monitors,
although most do these days.  For systems with any exposed laser
beams, make sure you have enough laser goggles on hand to show a few
people the system at a time.  I find three or four pairs to be enough
for most VIP situations.

Craig



>
> Best wishes,
>
> George