Stories & Features

There is a common misconception in instrument development: that custom always means expensive. For many engineers, this leads to sticker shock when they see a custom quote, causing them to default to off-the-shelf (OTS) components. However, the cost delta between custom and off-the-shelf is often a myth when you look at the efficiencies gained across the entire Development Pathway from IDEX Health & Science.
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When you set out to build a fluorescence microscope, the focus is often on the components: which lens, which filter, and which camera. However, a high-performance system is not just a collection of parts—it is a series of interconnected architectural decisions. Many developers fear that moving away from off-the-shelf components into a custom design will be overwhelming. The goal of collaboration is to demystify the instrument development process by providing a clear, phased roadmap.
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Watch the replay! This session explores two primary strategies for increasing imaging speed—large-field “step-and-shoot” imaging and ultra-fast line scanning with Time Delay Integration (TDI) sensors—and the optical demands associated with each.
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In optical system design, light is the currency you spend to get meaningful results, but etendue is your spending limit. Many system designers hit a technical wall where simply trying to deposit more laser power or buy a faster camera no longer yields results. This stagnation happens because the system's etendue has already capped how much information can actually be transferred. To truly overcome these bottlenecks, we must look beyond individual components and consider the etendue conservation of the entire optical train.
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Our BrightLine filter sets have long been an industry ”work horse,” delivering dependable, exceptional performance for a wide range of ever evolving applications and customer needs. We're excited to announce a significant evolution in our BrightLine product offerings, designed to provide unparalleled value and performance: the BrightLine 2.0 and BrightLine Basic Optical Filter Sets.
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The design of illumination optics for fluorescence-based systems has traditionally been defined by a frustrating compromise: speed versus sensitivity. If you’ve ever had to choose between the high intensity of a pinpoint laser and the rapid scanning speed of a wide-field beam, you’ve experienced the inherent limitations of traditional illumination design. But what if you didn’t have to choose?
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Every high-performance life science instrument requires a precisely tuned source-to-sensor imaging subsystem that balances resolution and throughput. Discover how to avoid the endless design loop by partnering with our team of experts at IDEX Health & Science.
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Custom illumination goes beyond power and wavelength. Our Melles Griot wide-field illumination modules are designed to power the future of life sciences. Engineered for next-generation, high-throughput, high-resolution imaging, our custom solutions provide everything you need for reliable, high-performance systems.
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At SPIE Photonics West 2025, our Director of RDE | Systems Imaging—David Steinchen—gave a live product demonstration of a turnkey fluorescent microscope (created in partnership with Dover Motion) to showcase one example of how our components can come together to enable your innovation. Watch our product demo here.
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Even the best objective lenses can face aberrations that compromise image quality. Understanding common aberrations is vital for creating high-performance optical systems that deliver the sharp, diffraction-limited diffraction-limited imaging needed today.
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