Correlated and combined confocal and conventional modes (and color coding) in tandem scanning reflected light microscopy
It has been proposed that an overriding advantage of the “black-box” configuration of confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM) is that it enables the use of all the familiar and conventional light microscope (LM) modes to discover a location of interest in a prepared, contrived, biological sample and then to switch to the confocal mode when desired. By implication, it has been assumed that this would not be possible in the Tandem Scanning Reflected Light Microscope (TSM). It is shown here that such suppositions are incorrect, and that correlations with different LM modes are very easily achieved in standard TSMs. In fact, because of the slow scanning speed of existing commercial CSLMs, it is not just an advantage to have other modes of image formation available, but a pure necessity, since finding the area of interest would otherwise be too difficult.