Dirt on images acquired on DeltaVision system

[Oliver Biehlmaier]

Dear users of the confocal list,

We have a problem with “dirt” on the images acquired with the Roper CoolSnap attached to our DeltaVision system.
The dirt looks crystal-like, not fibrous, like “classical dirt” originating from dust.
To solve the problem, we removed the camera from the c-mount and tried to clean the glass in front of the chip-chamber using a Laboratory Optics Cleaning Kit.
After the cleaning procedure the larger crystal was gone but instead we now have many smaller crystals. Thus, we conclude that the dirt is on the glass and not on the camera chip itself. These little “crystals” seem to be very solid and we are not able to get rid of them.
Did anyone of you run into the same/similar problem on a DeltaVision system?
The camera is mounted closely below the incubator box of the system. The bottom side of the incubator box is open and this opening is right above the camera. We wonder whether this situation might lead to any type of crystallization process on the glass that covers the chip housing/chamber.
Any ideas or comments?

Thank you and have a nice weekend,
Oliver  






<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD

Advanced Microscopy
Light Microscopy Centre (LMC)
Schafmattstr. 18
ETH-Hönggerberg, HPM F16
8093 Zürich
Switzerland

Phone:  [phone]
Fax:    [phone]
Email:  oliver.biehlmaier@...
URL:    http://www.lmc.ethz.ch/People/Oliver
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[Hugo.Ostermann]

I guess it is ice crystals try to read the chip temperature in the software. Is the crystal also visible right after start up when the chip is not yet cold?
Brg
Hugo

Hugo Ostermann
Chromaphor Analysen-Technik GmbH
Tel: ++49-172-2828373
www.chromaphor.de

---

From: Oliver Biehlmaier
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2009 14:44:06 +0100
To: <[hidden email]>
Subject: Dirt on images acquired on DeltaVision system

Dear users of the confocal list,

We have a problem with “dirt” on the images acquired with the Roper CoolSnap attached to our DeltaVision system.
The dirt looks crystal-like, not fibrous, like “classical dirt” originating from dust.
To solve the problem, we removed the camera from the c-mount and tried to clean the glass in front of the chip-chamber using a Laboratory Optics Cleaning Kit.
After the cleaning procedure the larger crystal was gone but instead we now have many smaller crystals. Thus, we conclude that the dirt is on the glass and not on the camera chip itself. These little “crystals” seem to be very solid and we are not able to get rid of them.
Did anyone of you run into the same/similar problem on a DeltaVision system?
The camera is mounted closely below the incubator box of the system. The bottom side of the incubator box is open and this opening is right above the camera. We wonder whether this situation might lead to any type of crystallization process on the glass that covers the chip housing/chamber.
Any ideas or comments?

Thank you and have a nice weekend,
Oliver  






<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD

Advanced Microscopy
Light Microscopy Centre (LMC)
Schafmattstr. 18
ETH-Hönggerberg, HPM F16
8093 Zürich
Switzerland

Phone:  [phone]
Fax:    [phone]
Email:  oliver.biehlmaier@...
URL:    http://www.lmc.ethz.ch/People/Oliver
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

[John Oreopoulos]

Hi Oliver, 

My experience with cleaning microscope optics (besides wiping oil off of an oil objective) has generally been try not to clean them unless absolutely necessary. There are several ways to clean optics detailed nicely here in this article from photonics spectra:

http://www.photonics.com/Content/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=24578

I've had the problem of dust on a camera window as well a few times and the first thing I try is always to blow off the dust with a strong stream of nitrogen gas. That usually does the trick. If you have to resort to solvents, the rate at which the solvent evaporates as you wipe the optic with a wet piece of lens tissue can be very important. If you do it incorrectly, you end up leaving specs/droplets of solvent behind on the optic you're trying to clean, which based on your description sounds like what happened. The article talks a bit about the "drop and drag" technique and the importance of dragging the lens tissue at just the right speed as you pull it across the surface. 

What type of solvent in your cleaning kit did you use? There may be a way to clean this off.

It's worth mentioning at this point that when it comes to cleaning other types of optics like interference filters or dichroic mirrors, you should NOT use any solvents since these will likely destroy the very thin coatings that lead to their filtering properties of light. Again if necessary, one should just try blowing the dust off first and if that doesn't work, just put a bit of warm water on a piece of lens paper and drag across the optic surface, and then dry off with a nitrogen stream again. I can't exactly remember where I had been given that advice for cleaning filters.

John Oreopoulos, BSc,

PhD Candidate

University of Toronto

Institute For Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering

Centre For Studies in Molecular Imaging

On 6-Feb-09, at 8:44 AM, Oliver Biehlmaier wrote:

Dear users of the confocal list,

We have a problem with “dirt” on the images acquired with the Roper CoolSnap attached to our DeltaVision system.
The dirt looks crystal-like, not fibrous, like “classical dirt” originating from dust.
To solve the problem, we removed the camera from the c-mount and tried to clean the glass in front of the chip-chamber using a Laboratory Optics Cleaning Kit.
After the cleaning procedure the larger crystal was gone but instead we now have many smaller crystals. Thus, we conclude that the dirt is on the glass and not on the camera chip itself. These little “crystals” seem to be very solid and we are not able to get rid of them.
Did anyone of you run into the same/similar problem on a DeltaVision system?
The camera is mounted closely below the incubator box of the system. The bottom side of the incubator box is open and this opening is right above the camera. We wonder whether this situation might lead to any type of crystallization process on the glass that covers the chip housing/chamber.
Any ideas or comments?

Thank you and have a nice weekend,
Oliver  






<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD

Advanced Microscopy
Light Microscopy Centre (LMC)
Schafmattstr. 18
ETH-Hönggerberg, HPM F16
8093 Zürich
Switzerland

Phone:  [phone]
Fax:    [phone]
Email:  oliver.biehlmaier@...
URL:    http://www.lmc.ethz.ch/People/Oliver
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

[Chris Tully]

Although I am no longer associated with the company, when I worked for
Media Cybernetics, a subsidiary of Roper Industries, several people
from the camera companies, also owned by Roper Industries, told me
that they used First Contact from Photonic Cleaning Technologies
(Platteville, WI; www.photoniccleaning.com) to clean their cameras.
Based on this recommendation, I purchased some and have used it
several times. This stuff comes in a finger nail polish type bottle
and is brushed on the camera or lens.  A small piece of stiff paper is
embedded in the coating and it is allowed to dry.  Once it is
completely dry, you can peel it off of the lens in a single sheet,
taking with it any bits of dirt, fuzz and even grease (i.e finger
prints).

I am not associated with Photonic Cleaning Technologies in any way
except as a satisfied user.

With that said, by paying careful attention to the live image from
this camera and rotating the camera and various optics in the imaging
system (use a bright field image) it should be fairly easy to identify
which surface actually holds the contamination.

Chris


Chris Tully
Microscopy and Image Analysis Expert
[hidden email]
240-888-1021
http://www.linkedin.com/in/christully