
22 Chapter 4 – Setting up a Scan
The scan^R Screening Station is a complex system with a number of hardware devices and a wide
range of experimental possibilities. In order to perform a scanning experiment a complete set of
parameters is required with information that allows the controller to synchronize the motorized
microscope modules, the illumination source and the motorized stage with the camera, that configures
the autofocusing procedure and, last not least, defines the type of imaging experiment to be executed
at a precise pattern of positions on the plates and within the wells.
The Edit Scan dialog window allows you to modify and verify all settings. To open it, click the Edit
button or select FileEdit.
All modifications in the settings persist until they are changed again. When starting a scan, the
complete settings will be stored in the resulting directory in a file named
experiment_descriptor.xml
.
Note that by default the current user settings will be stored in
DefaultSettings.xml
in the in the scan^R
installation folder in the directory .\Acquisition\Scan Settings Library\current user, where current user
corresponds to the Windows login name. This means that when multiple (Windows-) users start the
system, for each user scan^R will load each user’s default settings. Another filename or folder to store
the user settings can be set via FileSave as. It is also possible to reload a saved set of settings via
FileOpen and load an
experiment_descriptor.xml
file or a click on the Open button and change the
settings at will.
The Edit Scan dialog window groups the settings on three tabs:
• Autofocus to define and optimize the autofocus procedure
• Acquisition to define and visually control the microscope, camera and illumination settings, to set
cycle times for scan repetitions and to setup the acquisition of z-stacks
• Plate Manager to choose the well plate format, select the wells and the positions within wells to be
imaged.
4.1 Autofocus Settings
Test Current system settings. Click here to open the Autofocus Settings window. It allows you to
crudely focus and to control if the autofocus channel settings lead to images suitable for autofocusing.
When opening the Autofocus settings window, the Autofocus tab remains active. Move the
Autofocus settings windows aside to access the Autofocus tab and change the settings
(e.g. exposure time, etc.).
Type. Select the method to quantify the image focus from the following options: