RPI Licenses Microscope Technology to Thorlabs

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, N.Y., has licensed its adaptive scanning optical microscope technology to Thorlabs Inc. The Newton, N.J., company plans to bring the technology to market as a benchtop instrument for biological laboratories and microrobotics research.

The device enables viewing large areas of a sample while maintaining high image resolution. It automates laboratory tasks, particularly in the areas of medical diagnostics and drug discovery, and has potential applications in industrial inspection. Researchers at the institute’s Center for Automation Technologies and Systems invented the device, partly with funding from the National Science Foundation based in Arlington, Va.