$1 million dollar microscope first in New Zealand

Infra-red light can see into living tissues and organs

The University of Otago has recently paid one million dollars for a state-of-the-art microscope that will allow researchers to study the development of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. For the first time, Otago medical scientists will be able to view and analyse living brain cells, with the “multiphoton microscope” being the only one of its kind in New Zealand and one of only a handful worldwide.

The microscope uses a powerful but harmless infra-red light to literally see into tissues and organs, including the brain, lungs, skin, gut and lymph nodes. Associate Professor Ruth Empson, of the Department of Physiology and the University’s Brain Health Research Centre, said at the unveiling of the Microscope it was all “incredibly exciting,” according to the ODT. Empson said in a press release that “it is very appropriate that the Department of Physiology is driving this initiative since physiology is the scientific discipline that aims to understand how living things work.”

Empson said having the ability to see into hugely complex structures such as the brain, and being able to measure their electrical impulses, will revolutionise our understanding of the cells. “Understanding how they work is critical for fixing them, so the knowledge developed with this new microscope will help answer important questions in human health and diseases including stroke, arrhythmia, wound healing and irritable bowel disease.” It will be especially useful in the understanding of mental illnesses and brain traumas. “We will be able to see how these impulses change or malfunction in response to a brain trauma such as a stroke, or diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. We will also be able to visualise changes in brain structure during development, across puberty, right through to old age.”

Professor Richard Blaikie, Deputy Vice- Chancellor (Research and Enterprise), said that the new microscope was a “powerful new tool,” and highlights how dedicated the University is to providing state-of-the-art facilities and research. It will allow researchers to “look at the microscopic intricacies of living systems in literally a brand new light,” he said.

Professor Empson and fellow physiology researchers Dr. Karl Iremonger and Dr. Peter Jones were among those who fought to acquire the microscope. The microscope was funded with the assistance of NZ Lottery Health as well as a number of University of Otago sources. It is being housed at the Otago Centre for Confocal Microscopy on Great King Street.
This article first appeared in Issue 9, 2014.
Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Nina Harrap.