Press Release
Leica Microsystems AG
Wilfried Sauer Ernst-Leitz-Straße 17-37
Tel. +49 (0)64 41/29-0, Fax +49 (0)64 41/29 25 99 D-35578 Wetzlar
Germany
Press Release
November 15, 2006
MEDICA 2006 – New Products for Medical Applications from Leica Microsystems
Highlights: Innovative Network Solution for Pathologists and New Surgical Microscopes for Neurosurgeons and Ophthalmologists
WETZLAR, GERMANY. Leica Microsystems’ user base is growing all the time, ranging from research scientists and doctors to lab assistants. With innovative products and system solutions for the most diverse medical applications from sample preparation through microscope diagnostics all the way to image documentation, the leading manufacturer for precision optics technology offers an extensive product portfolio. The new microscopy systems that are being presented this year will make the daily workload even easier and even more efficient for pathologists, neurosurgeons and ophthalmic surgeons in particular.
Innovative network solutions for histopathologists
With the Leica DMD108, Leica Microsystems is breaking new ground in digital microscopy. For the first time, this innovative network solution for pathologists integrates microscope, camera, and PC in one compact system. Besides excellent diagnostic image quality and convenient documentation, presentation and data exchange facilities, the user is given a completely new dimension of freedom. The new Leica DMD108 combines the benefits of digital imaging with manual sample navigation to significantly speed the pathologist’s daily work routine without individual steps having to be changed. The Leica DMD108 provides particularly convenient conditions for observing and analyzing samples without viewing through an eyepiece. That means a truly ergonomic body posture, as the size of the stand, the viewing angle, and the working position are no longer an issue. The Leica DMD108 links the user with colleagues in the institute and experts around the globe. An additional monitor or a high-resolution beamer can be connected for training and discussion purposes. Images can also be directly e-mailed to consult colleagues that are not linked to the network.
Robust starter microscope for eye surgery
The rate of eye operations is increasing all the time. It is therefore essential that the surgical microscopes are easy to set up and use. The Leica M620 F18 optimally supports ophthalmic routines. This new product in the line of Leica’s successful microscopes for eye surgery provides the first-time user with robust, first-class functionality and a compact design while offering a better price/performance ratio than ever before. Due to the Leica OptiChrome™ optics and direct halogen illumination, the surgeon sees a constantly clear, sharply focused image and an absolutely stable, intensive Red Reflex. The Auto Reset function in the vertical home position saves valuable time and up to four profiles can be programmed for different users. With the new compact stand and the long-reach swivel arm, the Leica M620 F18 is beautifully easy to maneuver and position.
New dimensions in neurosurgery
The highly successful Leica M520 OH3 now has a worthy successor: the high-end surgical microscope Leica M525 OH4, which opens up new dimensions in ergonomics and mobility. One of the main improvements is the newly designed swivel arm, which offers 36% more reach than comparable instruments. Another remarkable feature of the Leica M525 OH4 is its precise, harmoniously balanced yet easy movement, which the surgeon will notice from the moment he sets hands on it. The four-axis arm guarantees a free view of the monitor during the entire operation, while the combination of Leica OptiChrome™ optics, new 300watt xenon illumination and fully automatic lamp changer ensures high-contrast images with great field depth. The AutoIris™ feature prevents overheating of the tissue outside the field of view and eliminates undesired stray light. To prevent glare when the surgeon reduces the working distance, the Leica BrightCare™ feature automatically regulates the light to the optimum intensity.
Automatic tissue processing for superlative sample quality
In the field of sample preparation, the new automatic tissue processor Leica ASP300 S is state of the art. The self-enclosed stand-alone system automatically processes up to 300 standard cassette-embedded samples. The overall focus of the design was to improve critical performance criteria like sample quality, process and operator safety, reagent carry-over and consumption, instrument up-time and lifetime cost. Non-contact filling and draining, seamless process control, an active paraffin cleaning cycle, and the improved reagent management system are just a few of the features of the new Leica ASP300 S that guarantee top sample quality and optimized work processes.
Flexible microscopy systems for daily routine tasks
Leica Microsystems offers a wide range of microscopes and stereomicroscopes to cover the most diverse applications of microscopic analysis methods in routine and research. Two examples are the Leica DM1000 and the intelligently automated Leica DM3000. Apart from superb optical quality, these Leica microscopes offer revolutionary ergonomics and can be ideally adapted to the body shape of every single user. Individually adjustable tubes or tubes with an ergonomic viewing angle of 15° enable the user to sit up straight. Even during long sessions at the microscope, neck, shoulder and back strain can be avoided by adaptable 30mm and 60mm ergomodules. The symmetric arrangement of the stage drive and the focus controls along a single line reduces strain on the shoulders and spine. Patented height-adjustable focus knobs adapt to any hand size. Thanks to the color-coded aperture diaphragms on the condenser, users no longer have to spend ages consulting the instruction manual. They recognize at once which diaphragm setting is the best for the selected objective.
Another innovation from the Leica Microsystems company: The new fluorescence stereomicroscope Leica MZ10 F. It is ideal for all routine fluorescence techniques in the biotechnology lab. The excellent magnification from 8x to 80x, high resolution of 375Lp/mm, 10:1 zoom, numerical aperture of 0.125, and separate TripleBeamTM fluorescence illumination ensure magnificent detail and elimination of reflections. The Leica MZ10F is the ideal addition to the research fluorescence stereomicroscopes Leica MZ16F und Leica MZ16A.
Digital color camera systems for efficient and convenient documentation
Reproducible results are impossible without professional image analysis and documentation. The new digital FireWire color cameras from Leica Microsystems enable quick and easy image capture, analysis, measurement, and documentation and are ideally matched to Leica microscopy systems. With 3megapixel resolution, and a 10-bit AD converter, the new Leica DFC290 produces sharply focused, high-contrast images that resolve the finest details and enables flicker-free live preview images practically in real time. For high-end documentation, the Leica DFC420 offers live image control and an extremely high standard of color fidelity, resolution, and detail rendering. Even the most demanding user will be satisfied by the detail reproduction and ultra high resolution of photographs taken by the Leica DFC490, whose 8 megapixel CCD generates magnificent image quality. Innovative data readout modes enable free selection of image transfer, speed, and scan method.
Integrated fluorescence workstation for sophisticated living cell examinations
The Leica AF6000 is Leica Microsystems’ fully integrated solution for fluorescence imaging that fulfils the highest requirements for biomedical research. This extremely flexible system can be configured for all fluorescence applications and live cell analyses that depend on brilliant fluorescence images and significant analysis data – from overlaying multi-channel images to z stacking and capturing 3D time lapse data. All components of the Leica AF6000, such as the microscope, camera and application, are optimally matched to each other. The system can be combined with upright as well as inverted fluorescence research microscopes. It is based on the same software platform as all the imaging fluorescence systems of Leica Microsystems. The flagship of the AF6000 system series is the Leica AF6000 LX, which was specially designed for ultra fast photography of living cells.
Text and photo on the Internet: www.leica-microsystems.com
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Leica Microsystems is a leading global designer and producer of innovative, high-tech, precision optical systems for the analysis of microstructures. It is one of the market leaders in each of its business areas: Microscopy, Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy, Imaging Systems, Specimen Preparation and Medical Equipment. The company manufactures a broad range of products for numerous applications requiring microscopic imaging, measurement, and analysis. It also offers system solutions for life science including biotechnology and medicine, research and development of raw materials, and industrial quality assurance. The company is represented in over 100 countries with 8 manufacturing facilities in 6 countries, sales and service organizations in 19 countries and an international network of dealers. With its workforce of about 3,200 employees it made turnover of US$597m The international management is headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany.
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