Whole Slide Scanning and Beyond – MMI CellScan

Name: Molecular Machines & Industries GmbH
Address: Breslauer Strasse 2, Eching, Bayern, 85386, DE
Telephone: 49 89 319 048 40

The MMI CellScan is the most flexible whole slide imaging system on the market. With compatibility across a wide range of research microscopes and any possible imaging mode, CellScan maximizes the performance of your research or pathology services.

CellScan is a whole slide scanner that converts any sample format into high-resolution digital data in 5D: Time-lapse, Z-stack, XY Scan, and multi-color fluorescence for the deepest insights into your sample.

CellScan is not just a whole slide scanner; it’s a comprehensive imaging solution tailored to meet the demands of modern research. Elevate your imaging experience with CellScan’s advanced features and take your research to new heights.

Epithelial cells of cervical human – 40x objective Normal squamous epithelial cells of cervical human - 40x objective

Monocot plant vascular tissue – 20x objective

What are the benefits of the MMI whole slide scanner?

Whole slide scanner with the highest flexibility
CellScan is compatible with all objectives, numerous research microscopes and all possible imaging modes. Together with the MMI CellCut, CellEctor and CellDetector it enables new areas of applications, like single cell isolation and automated cell analysis.

High-performance whole slide scanner
The entire imaging process is in your control, allowing you to scan a 15 mm x 15 mm section in less than 60 seconds and a full 75 mm x 25 mm slide in less than 7 minutes (20x objective).

Seamlessly operate from any location
Unlock the potential of virtual microscopy and view your whole slide images remotely with unlimited licenses of our MMI imaging software. Your digital images and slides can be stored, viewed, shared, and accessed globally. Collaborate with colleagues by sharing and virtually discussing your results.

Scan your whole slides in 5 dimensions
Cell Scan enables the whole slide scanning of full-resolution digital slides in 5D: XY-Scan, Z-stacks, time-lapse and multi-fluorescence, without losing quality. Obtain high-resolution images to fulfil the standards for impactful publications.

Whole slide imaging meets laser microdissection
Combine your whole slide scanner with the CellCut laser microdissection system. Benefit from a seamless transition between scanning and microdissection for an efficient workflow.

User-friendly operation
For technical assistants, the process is user-friendly — simply place your slides under the microscope and activate the device. The open x-y stage allows easy access to up to four standard slides, making slide changes and cleaning straightforward. Digital microscopy was never so easy.

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What is a whole slide scanner?

Whole slide imaging (WSI) – also known as virtual microscopy or whole slide scanning – is becoming increasingly popular in digital pathology as well as in clinical and basic research. A whole slide scanner can take images of each field of view across an entire microscopy slide. The pictures are then stitched together to generate a single, high-resolution digital whole slide image that researchers use for various purposes.

Why whole-slide imaging?

Whole slide imaging offers many advantages over conventional microscopy, such as portability, ease of sharing, retrieval of images, workload balancing, and image analysis. Scientists use whole slide scanners in many clinical and nonclinical settings. Clinical scientists are particularly excited about its use in digital pathology, where published data shows an excellent correlation between diagnoses made with whole slide imaging and conventional light microscopy. Moreover, biotech and pharmaceutical companies use whole slide scanners to reduce costs, and improve standardization and data management in research and development.

Glandular tissue – 20x objective Glandular tissue at 20x Magnification

Tilia Stem – 40x objective Tilia Stem at 40X magnification

The most flexible whole slide scanner

Compatible with almost all microscopes and imaging modes

The MMI CellScan is compatible with almost all research microscopes. You decide what microscope to use. Therefore, CellScan is not just a whole slide scanner, it’s a gateway to limitless digital imaging possibilities. Whether you’re working with brightfield, multi-fluorescence, confocal, phase contrast, or any other imaging mode, this versatile whole slide scanner gives you the freedom to explore and capture your samples in unprecedented detail.

All imaging modes with CellScan CellScan supports all image modes

All common sample formats

The whole slide scanner CellScan supports various sample formats. From conventional glass slides (including coverslips) to petri dishes with living cells, and membrane slides designed for laser microdissection. This unmatched flexibility ensures that CellScan is tailored to meet the diverse needs of various applications, like in digital pathology, cell biology and oncology.

CellScan supports all common sample formats Open x-y stage with four membrane slides

5D imaging

Take control of your research with CellScan’s ability to scan full-resolution digital slides in 5D. Capture dynamic changes over time with time-lapse imaging, explore the depths of your samples in Z-stack mode, navigate seamlessly in the x-y axis, and unravel the complexity of multi-fluorescence imaging. The MMI whole slide scanner empowers you to conduct experiments and analyse exactly as you envision.

Rat kidney with FITC and DAPI staining Rat kidney with multi-fluorescence (FITC and DAPI)

Modularity is key

The whole slide scanner CellScan boasts exceptional modularity, offering seamless compatibility and upgradability with all MMI devices. With modules like CellCut for precise laser microdissection, CellEctor for isolating cells in suspensions, and CellDetector utilizing artificial intelligence for automatic cell and tissue identification, our whole slide scanner provides a versatile platform for evolving research needs.

CellScan with the CellCut and CellEctor on the Olympus IX83

Villi of small intestine – 100x objective Villi of small intestine, magnification 100x

White blood cells in a blood smear – 100x objective White blood cells in peripheral blood smear

CellScan in a nutshell

It’s a whole slide scanner

Full resolution in any magnification
Any sample type
In 5D (x, y, z, time, colour)
Open file format BigTIFF

It’s a microscope

Anything you would do with a microscope (e.g. any objective lenses and fluorescence filter)
Any image mode, including confocal

Its upgradeable

With various microscope accessories
With any other MMI system (laser microdissection, cell picking and automated cell/tissue detection)

MMI imaging Software at the forefront of innovation

Collaborate with ease

Empower your whole slide imaging experience with precision and ease. The MMI analyzing software comes with unlimited licenses, facilitating remote and interactive work within larger teams. The whole slide images are loaded instantaneously as BigTIFF. The open file-format allows you to open the images in a range of other image analysis software.

Remote Work with MMI CellScan Access samples from anywhere at anytime

Capture and annotate

Mark and annotate cells and regions of interest effortlessly, with the added capability to export and reload marked areas. Insert scale bars, measure distances, and utilize this functionality for laser microdissection with the MMI CellCut. Capture videos and images at any time, providing flexibility in documentation.

Make annotations anywhere

Stitching perfection for best image harmony

The MMI whole slide scanner boasts a sophisticated stitching function, ensuring a perfect alignment of individual images without any overlap or artefacts along the edges. This precision is achieved through the accuracy of the motorized stage, offering absolute positioning and sample localization. The stability of the microscope set-up, coupled with precise auto-focusing, particularly benefits samples with waviness along the z and focus directions.

Vaginal swab recored by whole slide imaging Vaginal swab recorded by CellScan

If you have any questions about the CellEctor cell picker, please feel free to contact us

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Whole slide live-cell imaging

Live cell imaging involves time-lapse microscopy on living cells. Scientists use it to better understand biological function and cellular dynamics. With the whole slide scanner CellScan in combination with a stage-top incubator, you can easily perform live cell imaging experiments in fully physiological cell culture conditions.

Read more in the following Application Notes:

Whole slide live-cell imaging HeLa cells stained with Coomassie blue

Capturing and compiling multi-colour fluorescence images

CellScan is a whole slide imaging system that can utilize all functions of a research microscope. Therefore, the scanning of whole slides is not limited to one resolution. Researchers can change objectives or switch between brightfield and fluorescence imaging modes with just one mouse click. You can collect digital images of single fluorescent channels and automatically superpose them to generate one multi-colour image file.

Read more in the following Application Note:

WSI using Multiple Fluorescence Channels

A) Overview image. B) Both channels DAPI (blue) and CF 594 (green). C) CF 594. D) DAPI

Whole slide imaging meets laser microdissection

Researchers from a multitude of fields use microdissection to selectively isolate single cells or tissues. The technique enables downstream analyses such as RNA sequencing. Scientists often discard the larger cut tissue section, losing valuable information from the original slide. However, MMI’s CellScan, in combination with the CellCut Laser Microdissection system, allows researchers to image a tissue section and then precisely select cells and dissect the tissue while preserving information about the original uncut tissue and position information about the cut.

1. Scan your slide 2. Identify target region 3. Mark target cell 4. Excise the target cell 5. Verify successful isolation

Have a look at how the whole slide scanner works

In the following video you will see how to scan a slide with CellScan and how to cut out a cell with the optional laser microdissection module CellCut.