Contact Us

Capture more data* from your sample

Live cells respond by activating stress pathways when they are exposed to the high-intensity light that is typically used for fluorescent imaging. 

The K8 camera’s increased camera sensitivity makes it possible to use lower light doses* to capture images, thus improving cell viability and allowing you to extract meaningful data from your sample for longer.

The K8 camera’s market-leading 95% QE sensor offers exceptional photon detection, allowing you to push your experiment further.

*Than achievable with legacy 80% QE CMOS cameras.

Live cell imaging demonstration of phototoxicity with cells on the left dying after one hour. Time-lapse imaging cells on the right remain healthy. COS-7 cells stained with MitoView Green and Tetramethylrhodamin-Ethylester (TMRE) (red channel). TMRE staining shows mitochondrial membrane potential, staining is lost in response to stressful stimulus such as phototoxicity indicating cells are initiating apoptosis.

Razor-sharp THUNDER images even in extreme low light conditions

Unlike fixed samples, where users typically need to take a single image of a sample stained with photo stable dyes, live-cell imaging experiments require hundreds or even thousands of images of a photo sensitive sample to acquire a time lapse sequence. In order to get relevant results, it often becomes necessary to use much shorter exposures and lower excitation intensities to prevent photo damaging the sample, resulting in low signal to noise ratio (SNR) images. 

The less light you work with on your samples, the lower the SNRs, and this is when the K8 camera truly displays its cutting-edge power, delivering razor sharp images even in extreme low light conditions. The K8 camera empowers your research through computationally enhanced THUNDER images with reduced artefacts at even lower light levels than previously possible.

CMOS Camera K8

THUNDERed low signals to noise images of microtubules stained with Alexa 488 captured with an 80% QE sCMOS camera (left) and K8 (Right). The images were acquired using identical exposures and excitation settings. The image captured with K8 shows significantly more detail as information is lost in the noise floor of the less sensitive 80% QE camera.

Push the limits of your experiments

Take advantage of AI-enhanced clarity and accuracy enabled through the powerful combination of THUNDER and Aivia to analyze fluorescent images with greater accuracy, even when using low light excitation. 

Leica offers a unique trilogy of technologies in the form of the K8 scientific CMOS microscope camera, THUNDER and Aivia that enables you to truly push the limits of your research while still extracting high quality quantifiable data from the images.

Videos (A & B, above) show the mitochondria of COS-7 cells stained with TMRE. Both sequences were acquired using 15 ms exposures and identical illumination intensities. Cells were imaged with an 80% QE camera first to eliminate impact of photo bleaching (left). For the same light exposure, the K8 (right) produces significantly higher signal to noise ratios. Videos (C & D, below) show that Aivia analysis Software is able to identify and track 75% more objects in the data series captured using the K8 camera.

COS7 cells

Show details
THUNDER-enhanced image of COS cells stained with DAPI (blue), microtubules (green), Mitochondria (red) and E-Cadherins (Grey).
THUNDER-enhanced image of COS cells stained with DAPI (blue), microtubules (green), Mitochondria (red) and E-Cadherins (Grey).

Rat brain

Show details
Figure shows a THUNDERed image acquired with the K8 scientific CMOS camera of rat brain stained with DAPI (Blue), STL fluorescein (Green), GFAP- Cy3 (red) and NeuN Cy5 (Grey). Sample provided by FAN GmbH.
Figure shows a THUNDERed image acquired with the K8 scientific CMOS camera of rat brain stained with DAPI (Blue), STL fluorescein (Green), GFAP- Cy3 (red) and NeuN Cy5 (Grey). Sample provided by FAN GmbH.

MDCK cells

Show details
Figure shows a THUNDERed image acquired with the K8 scientific CMOS camera of  MDCK cells stained with Hoechst (Blue),  Giantin Alexa 488(Green), LaminB Alexa 555 (Red) and Catenin Alexa 647 (Grey). Sample provided by Ralf Jacob, Marburg university.
Figure shows a THUNDERed image acquired with the K8 scientific CMOS camera of MDCK cells stained with Hoechst (Blue), Giantin Alexa 488(Green), LaminB Alexa 555 (Red) and Catenin Alexa 647 (Grey). Sample provided by Ralf Jacob, Marburg university.
Background image
Scroll to top