Prestigious R&D 100 Award presented to Leica Microsystems

The SP8 FALCON Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM) solution from Leica Microsystems, has been recognized with a prestigious R&D 100 Award. The annual award is presented to the 100 most exceptional innovations in science and technology introduced during the previous year.

The lifetime of a fluorescence signal carries information on cellular microenvironment and molecular interactions. The SP8 FALCON was selected as a leading innovation as it enables scientists to utilize the recognized power of FLIM for functional imaging without needing to add complex equipment to an existing confocal system. Visualization and tracking of dynamic sub-cellular processes like oxidative stress and changes in ion concentration using lifetime contrast imaging becomes fast and simple.

In addition, SP8 FALCON allows FLIM to be combined with other imaging techniques offered with the SP8 confocal platform such as multiphoton excitation or stimulated emission depletion (STED). This powerful combination enables scientists to further optimize their research work.

The SP8 FALCON is a game-changing innovation and we are proud that this has been recognized with the prestigious R&D 100 Award”

Markus Lusser, President of Leica Microsystems

”With this major advancement in confocal imaging, complicated experimental setups and tedious data handling are a thing of the past. The acquisition speed and intuitive operation of the system enables researchers to benefit in an optimal way from the power of fluorescence lifetime contrast. This opens up new applications in the life science and biomedical fields, allowing new insights to be gained so that fundamental scientific questions can be answered.”