News
Oxford-ZEISS Centre of Excellence Expands Live Imaging Capabilities with First Lightfield 4D System
The acquisition introduces a powerful new dimension to existing platforms at the Oxford-ZEISS Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Imaging, as it enables real-time 3D imaging of fast biological processes.
The Oxford-ZEISS Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Imaging (Oxford-ZEISS CoE) between the Institute of Developmental & Regenerative Medicine and the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology has become the first to acquirethe novel ZEISS Lightfield 4D technology in a move that reinforces its position at the forefront of biomedical imaging innovation.
The Lightfield 4D technology allows scientists to observe dynamic biological processes in real time across the dimensions of x, y, z and time, thus opening new opportunities to study living tissues, organoids and embryos without compromising sample viability.
Integrated into the Centre's ZEISS LSM 980 confocal microscope, the Lightfield 4D upgrade enables researchers to capture entire three-dimensional volumes in a single exposure at speeds of up to 80 volumes per second.
Researchers will be able to move seamlessly between high-speed volumetric imaging with Lightfield 4D and the full existing suite of standard laser scanning confocal modes
available on the ZEISS LSM 980, including spectral imaging and photomanipulation.
Professor Marco Fritzsche, Scientific Director of the Oxford-ZEISS Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Imaging, said:
"This acquisition perfectly reflects the vision behind the Oxford-ZEISS Centre of Excellence. By adopting emerging imaging technologies at an early stage, we are not simply users of new instrumentation—we help validate and shape how these technologies are applied to solve real biological questions. It highlights the strength of our partnership with ZEISS and our shared commitment to advancing biomedical imaging through close collaboration between academic research and industrial innovation."
The new technology is expected to have a significant impact across a wide range of biological research programmes. It is particularly well suited to imaging organoids, developing embryos and intact tissues, where biological events often occur rapidly across complex three-dimensional structures.
Dr Toby Andrews, IDRM Transition Research Fellow, said:
"Many biological events are simply too fast to capture using conventional microscopy. Lightfield 4D transforms our imaging capacities at IDRM by allowing us to visualise these fast dynamics in full 3D for the first time. This technology will provide important new insight into how structure and function take shape in our developing organs, and how those processes can go awry to produce disease."
Unlike conventional confocal microscopy, which relies on sequential mechanical z-scanning to build three-dimensional images, Lightfield 4D captures a complete volume instantaneously using an integrated microlens array. It eliminates the need for mechanical z-scanning and dramatically increases imaging speed with reduced phototoxicity.
Professor Michael Dustin, Kennedy Trust Professor of Molecular Immunology and Director of Research at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, said:
"This new technology will be particularly useful for those studying dynamic three-dimensional processes. Movies of the developing zebrafish cardiovascular system provided a striking example!"
The Oxford-ZEISS Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Imaging opened in February 2024 as a strategic partnership between the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, the Institute for Developmental & Regenerative Medicine and Carl ZEISS GMBH. Designed as a future-focused biomedical imaging facility, the Oxford-ZEISS CoE combines world-leading biological research with direct collaboration with ZEISS Research & Development to accelerate the development and adoption of next-generation imaging technologies.
The ZEISS Lightfield 4D further strengthens the Oxford-ZEISS CoE’s mission to provide researchers with access to pioneering imaging platforms capable of addressing some of the most challenging questions in developmental biology, immunology, regenerative medicine and translational research.