Development and Applications of the OpenFlexure 3D Microscope
- The workshop will be held in person on November 22 and 23 at the San Joaquín Campus of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- It is intended for researchers and students interested in the field of bioimaging, particularly microscopy.
- Participants will learn the principles of optics and mechanics, and will even have the opportunity to build an OpenFlexure microscope.
Since its inception, optical microscopy has been key to the analysis of biological systems and the detection of diseases. It began with the early instruments developed by Hooke and Leeuwenhoek and has evolved into the microscopes available on the market today, which allow for the highly precise manipulation of various types of samples while also providing high-resolution images in both two and three dimensions.
Of course, this advancement is not yet accessible to the entire scientific and academic community; it even lacks the flexibility to adapt to new experimental methodologies.
Technology plays a key role here, bringing these benefits—which are sometimes very hard to access—within reach. For example, thanks to 3D printing and open-source electronics, there are scientific instrumentation options known as “open science hardware” designed to address the technical and distribution limitations of proprietary bioinstrumentation.
This isn't just a simple "copy," since it actually offers the same or even better performance than what's currently available on the market.
In fact, one of the features of this platform is that the technical documentation is publicly available for study, manufacturing, modification, distribution, and sale by developers or end users.
One of them is the OpenFlexure microscope, which is used in laboratories and is 3D-printed. You can learn more about it at the first LIBRE hub workshop, organized by the Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, in partnership with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
“OpenFlexure Microscope: Development and Applications”
The LIBRE hub workshop, which will be held in person on November 22 and 23 at the San Joaquín Campus of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, is aimed at researchers and graduate students interested in the field of bioimaging, particularly microscopy.
There, they will be led by Tobias Wenzel, Vicente Parot, and Pierre Padilla Huamantinco to learn how to build and use new tools as part of their research, particularly in scanning microscopy slides.
In this regard, OpenFlexure is designed to enable highly precise sample positioning and includes various optical components for viewing specimens under artificial or fluorescent light.
It is a powerful tool, developed in more than 40 countries and used in education and research across various fields of biology and medicine.
The key point here is that in the LIBRE hub workshop, participants will learn the principles of optics and mechanics as they apply to the design and manufacture of microscopes.
They will be able to build the OpenFlexure microscope while learning about its technical requirements and how it works.
Finally, attendees will be able to watch the 3D-printed OpexFlexure components being manufactured live, and they will be able to take the microscopes home to use in their own laboratories and experiments.
