WHAT'S NEW
Auto-Montage software used at NHM
to rapidly create images of world's rarest insect species
Syncroscopy is delighted to announce Auto-Montage Pro, its unrivalled 3D image reconstruction software, is being used at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the UK to produce images of many unique insect type specimens.
Researchers in the Hope Entomological Collections at Oxford University Museum of Natural History are using a Leica M165C microscope and Auto-Montage Pro software to produce in-focus 3D images of its vast collection of insect specimens collected over many years from around the world. Using Auto-Montage Pro, the scientists have generated images which are being used by entomologists world-wide to contribute to ecology research and studies of insect-borne diseases.
James Hogan, a Technician at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History explained: “We have around five million pinned insect specimens in our collections. Over 25,000 are type specimens, many of which are unique. Loans of type specimens are requested by entomologists overseas but many are fragile and cannot be transported, in case they are damaged. Therefore, good quality images are essential because we can send these instead of putting a specimen at risk.“
Mr Hogan added: “Before we installed Auto-Montage we used a Nikon CoolPix camera and tried to digitally stick photos together. This was difficult and didn’t really give great images of many small parts such as genitalia that are often required for accurately identifying an insect. We combined Auto-Montage with an automated Z-stepper on our microscope and this has helped us to automatically capture and produce good 3D images of crucial features we need to send researchers.”
Martin Smith of Syncroscopy said: “We are delighted Auto-Montage Pro is making it possible for scientists world-wide to access the exceptional entomological collections at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. This application by such a major institution further endorses Auto-Montage Pro software as the best available product for creating detailed, in-focus images of identifying parts of any insect.”
