Introduction
Many research projects require fast, high-resolution fluorescence microscopy. The typical solution is usually confocal or 2-photon microscopy. 

In general, these instrument are very expensive to purchase and, as a result, are only available as part of a user-facility. While this arrangement provides accessibility, it  rarely accommodates extensive daily use and perhaps, more importantly, customization for a specific research project.

But there is a solution:  Build your Own Confocal or 2-Photon Microscope!

This has the advantages of a substantial savings in cost, the ability to have personalized, multiple microscopes and a full understanding of the system to address trouble-shooting or future development.

Here, we provide, a microscope design, that can capture 4 different channels or images simultaneously, each at a rate of 15, 30, 60 or 120 images per second. These images are recorded instantly to computer hard drive for instant replay or future analysis. 

To gain the faster speeds, the image height must decrease by half for each step increase in speed. However, image width and resolution remains same.  At 15 fps, the image is at least 480 pixels wide x 800 lines high. At 30 fps the image height is reduced to 400 lines and so.  

The original design was developed and published by Dr. Ian Parker, UC, Irvine.
Visit his web page for details and references  Ian Parker's laboratory

The original design was modified to incorporate software advances. These improvements are described by:
Sanderson, M. J. and Parker, I. (2002). Video Rate Confocal Microscopy. In:  Methods in Enzymology 360:  Biophotonics: Volume A: Edited by Gerard Marriott and Ian Parker, p 447 - 481.

The design has been further improved for easy of construction and use with both confocal and 2-photon microscopy. These upgrades are described on this site. More design details are provided at Ian Parker's Web site. A system successfully built on these principles with his practical solutions is demonstrated by Max Krummel, UCSF.