Category: ‘Biology’

Sinus Endoscopy

December 29, 2011 Posted by

Sinus EndoscopyPeople require sinus endoscopy or sinoscopy when they have complex nasal problems which cannot be treated using basic medication. Professionals who operate on those who have sinus problems are called otolaryngologists and their expertise is mainly to deal with nasal, throat and ear problems.

They use this form of surgery to remove anything that may obstruct aeration in some parts of a persons’ skull. Exploration of all the causes that lead to sinusitis are done and corrected during this process.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR CAUSES THAT LEAD TO HAVE THIS PROCEDURE DONE?

People require this kind of sinus surgery when they have lost the ability to taste or smell, find it very difficult to breathe, have obstructions in their nasal canal and feel a lot of pain on the face especially the skull. It is usually done when other methods such as the use of medication has been tried without much success.

There are several reasons that may cause this procedure to be done as outlined below:-

Swellings in asthmatic patients, called polyps or cysts which are not cancerous but are usually filled with water may block the nasal passage.

An infection in a person’s tooth may lead to sinusitis. When there is an accumulation of mucous in an infected tooth, it may spread out to the sinuses which may eventually require endoscopy depending on the infection and how complex the situation is.

Poor ventilation in a home where a person lives. (more…)

Microscope Incubator – Environmental Control for Live Cell Imaging

December 29, 2011 Posted by

Microscope IncubatorBackground:

During live cell imaging, environmental parameters, such as temperature, CO2 and humidity, should be controlled to optimize experimental results. A well- controlled environment not only provides cells the best condition they need to grow, but also minimize the focus drift caused by thermal fluctuation.

Types of microscope incubator (also known as environmental control chamber):

There are two main types of microscope incubators-

A. Cage incubator: An acrylic chamber which encloses the whole microscope. It provides stable temperature across the chamber. As it needs to warm up the air inside whole chamber, it usually takes 30 minutes for the temperature to stabilize at preset temperature.

B. Stage incubator: A compact metal chamber which can be mounted on the microscope stage. As the stage chamber can be easily removed from the stage, it’s convenient for shared microscope facility. On the other hand, inhomogeneous temperature distribution is usually a trade-off for this kind of incubator.

Temperature Control:

Typically, the temperature in the microscope incubator can be set from ambient to 50°C. The control accuracy depends on the design and type of incubators. For example, without advanced control, a typical stage incubator might have a 2 °C difference in temperature across the sample. On the other hand, a well-designed cage incubator yields a control precision of ± 0.2 °C. (more…)