Complex live-cell imaging experiments such as fluorescence recovery after photo bleaching, single molecule detection, and ultrafast synchronized 3D-stacking require high temporal resolution and flexibility of control. The Olympus real-time controllers (RTC) U-RTC and U-RTCE meet these demanding requirements with high precision timing and parallelized control that optimizes overall system performance. Both enable the precise synchronization between accessory devices that translates directly into fast experiment execution and improved cell viability. The Olympus U-RTC and U-RTCE are broadly compatible with many TTL and Analog controlled systems including: piezoelectric focus and positioning devices, laser combiner and LED excitation systems, as well as a broad range of cameras and acquisition devices, and more.

Perfect Timing and High Accuracy
The Olympus RTC features an independent CPU board that guarantees fast, parallel experiment execution without delays even in complex experimental set-ups. This leads not only to extremely high timing accuracy and a precision of smaller than 2 µs, it also makes it possible to minimize idle times – which is an essential requirement for high-speed imaging.

Due to this fast and accurate real-time control the user benefits especially in live-cell experiments from:

high reproducibility
higher quantification reliability
minimized bleaching
less phototoxic events and higher cell viability.

Precise device control, excellent timing precision and high accuracy are prerequisites which reduce sample bleaching, maximize cell viability and guarantee data reproducibility

Intelligent Connections
Olympus high-end imaging hardware like cellTIRF, cellFRAP, filter wheels and shutters are easily connected, configured and controlled via cellSens through the RTC. The extended Olympus real-time controller features a number of ports dedicated to control generic peripheral components efficiently and with great speed. Up to 23 trigger out ports provide TTL synchronization like switching light sources on or off, up to 18 analog out ports serve for example for light source intensity control or precise Piezo Z-positioning. Up to four digital input ports can be used for handshake-connections with 3rd-party vendor devices or to wait for triggers caused by experiment events.

System Integration
The Olympus real-time controller is fully integrated within cellSens. All RTC/RTCE connected Olympus and 3rd party devices can be directly controlled within the cellSens Graphical Experiment Manager (GEM). This combination of hard- and software allows to set up even the most complex experiments due to an easy-to-use software GUI and to trigger them with one single click.