We request an AMT dual CCD camera system for our existing Philips CM 120 electron microscope in order to perform high-contrast digital imaging of molecules and cells. The camera system will serve 8 major users and over 40 minor users in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health. The following features of the AMT camera system will enhance our imaging capabilities: (1) A side-mounted survey camera displays a high-contrast image on a large computer monitor in real time, allowing easy focusing and easy viewing of images by several investigators at a time; (2) A bottom-mounted, large-format 2k x 2k camera acquires images that have very high spatial resolution and dynamic range and which are comparable in quality to those made on film; (3) Digital imaging will be useful for the examination of low-contrast specimens, such as negatively stained specimens and, especially, lightly stained thin sections prepared for immuno-electron microscopy; (4) AMT and ImagePro software will give us flexibility for image acquisition, allow us to save images in generic TIFF format, and give us the tools we need for image processing, analysis, and archiving. The addition of this digital imaging system to our TEM will increase productivity and provide high-contrast, efficient imaging for our research.
