This Semester (Spring 2020)

Spring 2020 has been challenging, to say the least. Before quarantine took place to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had many things planned for this semester. Below is a detailednaccount of all that was planned and accomplished, as well as plans for the future.

Main Goal for this Semester:

Find a method to take a longer video of cells without compromising the integrity of the video in terms of pixel size, fps (frames per second), and other important details.
- Problem: setup now limits the movement of cell as it focuses on a large area of ROI (region of interest).
- Solution 1: Use DSLR camera with multiple lenses. Tripod and a makeshift stage made of certain books are needed.
  - Did not work due to the non-repeatability nature of the set up.
- Solution 2: Use a different camera along with lenses on the inverted microscope.
  - Did not work because the camera and lens combination were not compatible with the large inverted microscope.
- Solution 3: Get a 0.5x magnification lens for the inverted microscope from the company.
  - This seemed to be the best solution, as it was the most straightforward solution. This lens would be the most compatible with the inverted microscope, which is the preferable imaging medium.

What Was Accomplished:

After much trial and error, I settled on Solution 3. However, I got as far as contacting the distributor for my region regarding the lens for the inverted microscope before UNL closed.

Research Plans for the Future:

To get the lens installed into the inverted microscope
Harvest and image cells for 10 minutes using five different thicknesses of shims instead of three
Analyze the different movements using the data retrieved from images.
Compute and assemble the data into graphs and figures.
Present the results.

This Semester (Spring 2020)

Main Goal for this Semester:

Find a method to take a longer video of cells without compromising the integrity of the video in terms of pixel size, fps (frames per second), and other important details.

Problem: setup now limits the movement of cell as it focuses on a large area of ROI (region of interest). ​

Solution 1: Use DSLR camera with multiple lenses. Tripod and a makeshift stage made of certain books are needed.

Did not work due to the non-repeatability nature of the set up.​

Solution 2: Use a different camera along with lenses on the inverted microscope.

Did not work because the camera and lens combination ​were not compatible with the large inverted microscope.

Solution 3: Get a 0.5x magnification lens for the inverted microscope from the company. ​​

This seemed to be the best solution, as it was the most straightforward solution. This lens would be the most compatible with the inverted microscope, which is the preferable imaging medium.

What Was Accomplished:

After much trial and error, I settled on Solution 3. However, I got as far as contacting the distributor for my region regarding the lens for the inverted microscope before UNL closed.

Research Plans for the Future:

To get the lens installed into the inverted microscope

Harvest and image cells for 10 minutes using five different thicknesses of shims instead of three

Analyze the different movements using the data retrieved from images.

Compute and assemble the data into graphs and figures.

Present the results.

Problem: setup now limits the movement of cell as it focuses on a large area of ROI (region of interest).

Did not work due to the non-repeatability nature of the set up.

Did not work because the camera and lens combination were not compatible with the large inverted microscope.

Solution 3: Get a 0.5x magnification lens for the inverted microscope from the company.