Our revolutionary MagnaTank™ behavior monitoring platform records groups of free swimming larvae in parallel, custom Petri dish-sized containers. Illuminated horizontally (by darkfield illumination), larvae are recorded using our novel Remanent Imaging paradigm: they literally draw their own trajectories on the black background of the images. This reduces processing needs and data footprint, making real-time processing of life long recordings possible — a prowess out of reach of any other existing technology.
Remote operation and access to the platform is made possible by its underlying software architecture and PiscisTrack™ suite of custom software. PiscisTrack™ performs all image capture, data storage and data processing tasks via a unified, consistent, cloud-based architecture controlled via web browser.
The MagnaTank™ platform is designed to provide the best possible darkfield images so that motion data can be extracted with little or no image processing, and so that the region of interest includes the entirety of the tanks, making all organisms always visible regardless of their size.
At the same time, the platform has been conceived to free users from making any adjustments, such as centering or focusing.
The superior image capture capability is provided by a combination of unique designs that provide fine control of illumination wavelength and light field topology. A major emphasis has been put on enforcing rotational symmetry whenever possible so that experimental conditions are identical and finely controlled.
Consistency and synchronicity are enforced thanks to an unqualified commitment to rotational symmetry for all station components.
MagnaTank™ custom tanks are designed to hold 30mL of water, provide a 5.2 mm deep water column, and enforce a meniscus free surface orthogonal to the camera recording axis.
Meniscus formation is prevented by sharp ledges on the inner and outer walls of the tank, 5.2 mm from the tank bottom.
In addition, both walls are tapered to perfectly align with the camera and provide a region of interest that includes the entire water column, with no dead angles for organisms to escape the field of view.
The MagnaTank™ tank container surrounds tanks with water to provide:
Dual illumination for centering (red) and imaging (IR) which are split (by beam splitters) and reflected (by mirrors) into the four tanks from below.
As a result, consistent, synchronized, collimated illumination is provided to each of the four tanks.
Board level cameras and narrow bandpass filters held in custom holders support capture in a narrow IR spectrum. Capture is controlled by custom software in our PiscisTrack™ suite. A centrally placed LED will illuminate experiments with the appropriate light schedule.
