Modul Preisträger 2022 | Deutscher Zukunftspreis

“Researching the foundations of life –  An innovative microscope for gentle 3D imaging of living cells”

Dr. rer. nat. Thomas Kalkbrenner, Dr. rer. nat. Jörg Siebenmorgen and Dipl.-Phys. Ralf Wolleschensky were awarded the Deutscher Zukunftspreis in 2022 for their innovation.

(f.l.t.r.) Dipl.-Phys. Ralf Wolleschensky, Dr. rer. nat. Thomas Kalkbrenner,
Dr. rer. nat. Jörg Siebenmorgen

The prizewinners developed an innovative high-resolution microscope system that opens up entirely new perspectives for research. The system combines what is known as lattice lightsheet microscopy with a number of innovative optical technologies, thereby protecting living samples from being damaged by the laser light used by the fluorescence microscope when observed under the microscope. The easy-to-use system thus opens the door to a wide range of entirely new applications in basic research as well as in the search for new approaches to medical diagnostics or pharmaceutical agents.

To do so, the winning team relied on the technology of the lightsheet microscope in which the directions of illumination and detection are separate. This alone dramatically reduces the amount of radiation to which the object is exposed but is not enough to observe what goes on inside individual cells: To do this, special beam shapes must be used – the lattice lightsheets. The team combined their complex technology with an innovative concept to generate lightsheets automatically.

The compact system can easily be integrated in existing lab environments and combined with the usual type of sample preparation. The success of the system is driven by innovative microscope optics which fully compensate for possible imaging errors.

This combination of several innovations ensures that microscopic images are produced in excellent image quality – which can be maintained for several hours or even days at a time without compromising the examined object.

The module of the 2022 award winners mirrors the various components used in the implementation. Highly visible is the “gateway”, a 3D display which documents in a number of fascinating sequences taken from fluorescent images of cells how with this innovative microscope “life can be observed living”.

In the module itself, the important elements of the innovation (clockwise) are then presented in pictures and explained together with hands-on applications and exhibits.

A screen presents an explanation of how fluorescence microscopy works and highlights the most important innovative steps that produced the award-winning microscope.

A demonstration, in this case, blood cells magnified 3,300 times, explains the principle of lightsheet microscopy: first, by means of the planar illumination of all cells and, second, by means of lasers that illuminate the individual planes of these cells. This prevents the cells from being damaged by the laser light while still making it possible to observe the brightly lit and well-focused object in focus.

The middle display case of the module spotlights the technical finesse of the implementation: First, the two lenses of the new lattice lightsheet microscope are positioned vertically next to each other. Note the polished free-form lenses that correct aberrations of the inverse microscope produced by viewing the sample at an angle through a glass base. To further explain the principle, another exhibit shows the polished section in two-and-a-half times magnification.

A display compares cell division under a conventional fluorescence microscope with the lattice lightsheet microscope. Notice that the cells under the classic fluorescence microscope are damaged by light that is too strong and stop cell division. Under the lattice lightsheet microscope, on the other hand, cell division can proceed undisturbed by the observation until the end.

Another demonstration reveals how the beam-shaping modules work that are used in lattice lightsheet microscopy. The core, a spatial light phase modulator, generates the lattice lightsheets and thus the light distribution patterns necessary for the gentle observation of objects under a microscope. On the module’s media terminal, the three prizewinners talk about the road to the development of their innovation and the special features of their cooperation. It is interesting to note that even at a company with a tradition of producing microscopes that goes back to 1847, a new microscope concept first had to prove that it truly did open up new perspectives.

Statements on the commercial potential highlight the opportunities for medical research and the life sciences in being able to observe cells as they live their life. This terminal also has the German television ZDF report of the award ceremony that once more presents the sequence of the development steps.

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The module of the winners 2022

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