SLICE™: a paradigm shift in light-sheet microscopy that combines high performance with unprecedented affordability and a compact device footprint. Invented by leading researchers at Columbia University, SLICE delivers advanced 3D imaging capabilities to research labs of all sizes. This innovative system offers high-resolution imaging of biological samples, making it ideal for both individual laboratories and core facilities.
SLICE comes equipped with powerful BrightSLICE software for tera-voxel visualization, seamless image stitching, and sophisticated post-processing. Moreover, it seamlessly integrates with MBF Bioscience’s renowned suite of analytical tools, including Neurolucida 360, NeuroInfo, and NeuroDeblur, providing a comprehensive solution for cutting-edge research in neuroscience and beyond.
Move beyond expensive legacy light sheet microscopes.
* Please note pricing may vary outside the US
SLICE offers the power of advanced light-sheet microscopy at a fraction of the cost of conventional systems. Projected Light Sheet Microscopy (pLSM) is a cutting-edge imaging technique utilizing dynamic, modulated light sheets for high resolution visualization of cleared samples. This innovative approach enables multi-resolution imaging, compatibility with a variety of clearing methods and minimal photobleaching making it particularly valuable for fields like developmental biology, neuroscience, and other areas requiring detailed analysis of cleared intact specimens. SLICE embodies these advancements, delivering a compact design and user-friendly interface that makes cutting-edge imaging technology accessible to labs of all sizes.
SLICE delivers unmatched accessibility, giving every team member the freedom to explore, experiment, and uncover new possibilities—without barriers or boundaries. It’s designed to make the extraordinary within reach, offering the ultimate value without sacrificing innovation or quality.
Built on scientifically validated technology licensed from Columbia University's leading researchers, SLICE leverages cutting-edge methodology published in peer-reviewed literature (Chen et al 2024) and Highlighted in Nature Reviews Bioengineering.
SLICE is engineered so that it can also be placed in locations where experiments are actually happening – e.g. for higher biosafety labels, small lab spaces or even inside incubators.
| Lateral Resolution | ~0.75μm (with 10x objective) |
| Light-Sheet Thickness | 5μm - 8μm at light sheet waist |
| Light-Sheet Field of View (FOV) | 1.2mm x 0.75mm (with 10x objective) |
| Maximum Sample Size | 20 mm x 20 mm x 18 mm |
| Imaging Speed | Up to 17 frames per second (Sample/Settings Dependent) |
| 3 Excitation Lasers | Blue (455nm), Green (520nm), Red (640nm) |
| System Dimensions | L 457mm x W 368mm x H 304mm |
| Clearing Methods Supported | iDISCO, CLARITY, SHANEL, CUBIC, BINAREE and other optical clearing techniques |
| Labeling Methods Supported | GFP, eGFP, CFP, Thy1-GFP, mCerulean, mTurquoise, eYFP, Citrine, mNeonGreen, Oregon Green, YOYO-1, FITC, SYTOX green and blue, Alexa 514, 633, 647, tdTomato, mKate2, Cy5, including c-Fos conjugates, podocalyxin, Acta2, CD31, and others |
BrightSLICE is a powerful, all-in-one software solution designed specifically for light-sheet microscopy. From acquisition to analysis, handle teravoxel-scale imaging with unprecedented ease and precision.
Everything you need in one intuitive interface:
Generate publication-quality data with comprehensive processing tools:
Seamlessly connects with our professional analysis suite:
Plays well with your existing tools through OME-TIFF export:
Download SLICE product sheet here.
Download our white paper on practical guidelines for working with large-scale light sheet data.
Download our white paper: A Practical Guide to Selecting Compression Levels for 3D Light Sheet Fluorescent Microscopy Data
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 Human brain, stained with Podocalyxin/CD31 and Acta2 vasculature markers. Tissue cleared with iDISCO and imaged with 16x objective. Image courtesy of the Tomer Lab. |
 Human brain, stained with Podocalyxin/CD31 and Acta2 vasculature markers. Tissue cleared with iDISCO and imaged with 16x objective. Image courtesy of the Tomer Lab. |
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 Cortical mouse brain cleared with Binaree (Binaree, Inc., Daegu, Republic of Korea) and labeled using retrograde rAAV tracing under the CAG promoter with a TdTomato fluorophore. The image was acquired using a 10x/0.28 NA objective. |
 iDISCO cleared whole mouse brain, stained with TH antibody for Dopamine system, acquired with 10x/0.28 NA objective. Image courtesy of the Tomer Lab. |
 Cortical mouse brain cleared with Binaree (Binaree, Inc., Daegu, Republic of Korea) and labeled using retrograde rAAV tracing under the CAG promoter with a TdTomato fluorophore. The image was acquired using a 10x/0.28 NA objective. |
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 Axons in the Inferior Colliculus of mouse brain cleared with Binaree (Binaree, Inc., Daegu, Republic of Korea), and labeled using retrograde rAAV tracing under the CAG promoter with TdTomato fluorophore. Image acquired with 10x/0.28 NA objective. |
 Cortical mouse brain cleared with Binaree (Binaree, Inc., Daegu, Republic of Korea) and labeled using retrograde rAAV tracing under the CAG promoter with a TdTomato fluorophore. Image acquired using a 10x/0.28 NA objective. |
 High-resolution imaging of the mouse brain vasculature in an iDISCO cleared sample. Courtesy Dr. Raju Tomer, Columbia University. |
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 Mouse Vessels |
 Astyanax mexicanus brain cleared using iDISCO+ and stained with TO-PRO to label cell nuclei. Sample courtesy of the Kowalko lab, Lehigh University.
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 Astyanax mexicanus brain cleared using iDISCO+ and stained with TO-PRO to label cell nuclei. Sample courtesy of the Kowalko lab, Lehigh University. |
| Astyanax mexicanus brain cleared using iDISCO+ and stained with TO-PRO to label cell nuclei. Sample courtesy of the Kowalko lab, Lehigh University. | ||
| FosTRAP expressing TdTomato cleared with CUBIC-R clearing technique. Image acquired with 10x/0.28 imaging objective. | Sample Mounting | Clearing a whole mouse brain with Binaree® tissue clearing rapid |
SLICE offers exceptional imaging capabilities:
The SLICE system is designed to work with a variety of sample preparation techniques:
The SLICE offers exceptional flexibility for various imaging needs:
Achieve crystal-clear images even in challenging samples with SLICE’s integrated refractive index correction. This advanced capability automatically compensates for optical distortions, ensuring uniform brightness and resolution throughout your cleared tissues.
Crucially, SLICE allows you to use any clearing technique and associated immersion media (e.g., iDISCO, CLARITY, SHANEL, CUBIC, BINAREE, and more) without needing to make any physical changes to the system.
Unlike other light sheet microscopes that require manual adjustments or component swaps for each media type, SLICE adapts seamlessly, maximizing your flexibility and minimizing setup time.
The SLICE microscope features intelligent wavelet compression that reduces file sizes by up to 95% while preserving analytical integrity. Through rigorous scientific validation, we’ve identified optimal compression settings that maintain research accuracy while dramatically reducing storage costs. This breakthrough addresses one of light sheet microscopy’s biggest challenges: terabyte-scale datasets that overwhelm storage systems and create analysis bottlenecks. Users benefit from dramatically reduced storage costs, faster data transfer times, and the ability to conduct larger experiments without infrastructure constraints. For example, a 500 GB dataset compresses to just 25 GB with zero impact on quantitative results.
Read our white paper: A Practical Guide to Selecting Compression Levels for 3D Light Sheet Fluorescent Microscopy Data
Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy generates large image data, which requires powerful acquisition and processing software. BrightSLICE software performs all the microscope control and post-processing you will need to create and visualize teravoxel light sheet microscope images. It also offers an optional add-on module for deconvolution.
The BrightSLICE software has an easy-to-use interface, combining flexible image acquisition, high-performance 3D data viewing, and powerful post-processing capabilities into a single application with streamlined workflows and batch processing capabilities.
SLICE comes with BrightSLICE software, a comprehensive software application to handle teravoxel-scale imaging data with ease. From acquisition to visualization, BrightSLICE provides everything you need in one powerful, intuitive package:
BrightSLICE software ensures experiment reproducibility by saving all imaging parameters in image metadata, and configurations can be saved for future experiments. Data output is optimized for MBF Bioscience’s software NeuroInfo (for brain atlas registration), Neurolucida 360 (for neuron and vessel analysis) and Stereo Investigator (for stereology) Output formats also include OME-TIFF to ensure compatibility with common third party image processing software, such as Fiji, Python, Matlab, and Napari.
BrightSLICE’s integrated 3D image rich viewing environment allows researchers to inspect the entire dataset directly after acquisition or after processing. The software is highly parallelized and designed to take advantage of advanced GPU graphics cards. This gives users control over their data with key capabilities, including:
BrightSLICE software integrates flexible light-sheet microscope control with multi-channel image viewing with and post-processing to achieve the highest quality images. BrightSLICE generates high-quality images ready for publications and in-depth exploration by providing the following features:
Advanced Image Data Compression for Light Sheet Microscopy
The SLICE microscope features intelligent wavelet compression, solving one of light sheet microscopy’s biggest challenges: massive data storage requirements. Our scientifically-validated compression protocol reduces file sizes by up to 95% while preserving complete analytical integrity.
The Problem: Traditional light sheet experiments generate terabyte-scale datasets that overwhelm storage systems, slow data transfer, and create analysis bottlenecks that limit research productivity.
Our Solution: Through rigorous testing using advanced perceptual metrics and automated analysis validation, we’ve identified optimal compression settings (15:1 to 20:1) that maintain scientific accuracy while dramatically reducing storage costs. A 500 GB dataset compresses to just 25 GB with zero impact on quantitative results.
Why This Matters:
Unlock Ambitious Research Questions: Equip your lab to tackle complex 3D biological questions previously requiring multi-million dollar core facilities.
Optimize Research Budget & ROI: Invest in a cutting-edge light sheet system that delivers top-tier performance at an unparalleled value, freeing up resources for other critical lab needs.
Empower Your Team with Intuitive Technology: Enable postdocs, graduate students, and technicians to quickly master advanced imaging techniques, minimizing training time and maximizing research output.
Ensure Data Integrity and Publishability: Generate high-quality, reproducible 3D and 4D datasets that meet the rigorous standards of leading scientific journals.
Future-Proof Your Research: A versatile platform compatible with evolving clearing techniques and diverse sample types ensures SLICE remains a valuable asset for years to come.
Reliable Performance, Dedicated Support: Benefit from a robust system and responsive technical support that minimizes downtime and keeps your research moving forward.
Fast-Track Your Projects: Get the high-quality 3D data you need, faster, to meet deadlines and accelerate your research.
Intuitive & Efficient Workflow: Spend less time learning the instrument and more time generating groundbreaking results, with user-friendly operation and streamlined software.
Achieve High-Impact Publications: Produce stunning, quantitative 3D data that stands out and strengthens your manuscripts for top-tier journals.
Protect Your Live Samples: Image delicate biological processes for extended periods with minimal phototoxicity, ensuring robust, meaningful experiments.
Expand Your Skill Set: Become proficient in advanced light sheet microscopy, adding a valuable and sought-after technique to your research repertoire.
Superior Insights from 3D Models: Move beyond the limitations of 2D. SLICE provides high-resolution 3D visualization of complex organoids, spheroids, and cleared tissues, offering a more physiologically relevant platform for studying drug response, target engagement, and disease mechanisms.
Streamlined Workflow for Preclinical Research: Simplify your 3D imaging pipeline from sample preparation to data analysis. SLICE's intuitive operation and broad compatibility with clearing methods accelerate your experimental cycles.
Empower High-Content Analysis of Complex Samples: Generate high-quality 3D quantitative data essential for screening and validating lead compounds. Extract precise metrics on cellular morphology, viability, proliferation, and protein localization within intact 3D structures.
Cost-Effective Advanced Imaging: Access cutting-edge light sheet capabilities without the prohibitive cost and complexity of traditional systems. This enables wider adoption of 3D models, potentially reducing reliance on more expensive and time-consuming animal studies.
Rapid Volumetric Data Acquisition: Acquire complete 3D datasets quickly, enabling higher throughput for advanced in vitro models and accelerating the pace of your drug discovery research.
For core imaging facilities and shared resource labs, SLICE represents a paradigm shift in delivering cutting-edge light sheet microscopy. Designed for a multi-user environment, SLICE combines advanced capabilities with unprecedented accessibility, allowing you to serve more researchers and elevate your facility's impact.
Democratize Discovery: High-Performance 3D Imaging, Easily Accessible. Unlock cutting-edge 3D biological imaging for every lab, making sophisticated research accessible and affordable, fostering a new era of breakthroughs.
Optimize Research Productivity: Unrivaled Performance in a Compact Benchtop System. Achieve stunning, high-resolution 3D images and rapid data acquisition from a space-saving instrument, designed to maximize your team's output.
Scalable Throughput & Unprecedented Value: Deploy multiple SLICE systems for less than the cost of a single legacy light sheet microscope, dramatically increasing your lab's or facility's imaging capacity and eliminating bottlenecks. This intelligent investment strategy enables parallel experiments and significantly boosts overall research output.
Compatibility with Diverse Clearing Techniques: Effortlessly integrate SLICE into your existing workflow, supporting virtually all popular tissue clearing methods like CLARITY, iDISCO, CUBIC, and more.
Comprehensive Software Pipeline from Acquisition to Publication-Ready Data: Streamline your entire research process with the intuitive BrightSLICE software, guiding you from intelligent acquisition to advanced visualization and the generation of stunning, shareable results.
Enhanced Image Quality and Depth for Comprehensive 3D Analysis: Capture stunning detail and uncover hidden structures deep within large, cleared samples, enabling more complete and insightful 3D volumetric analysis.
Understanding cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, and treatment response demands a comprehensive view that goes beyond traditional 2D cell cultures. The complex interplay within the 3D tumor microenvironment, including cellular interactions, vascularization, and drug penetration, holds the key to developing more effective therapies. SLICE offers cancer researchers an accessible and powerful tool to explore these critical aspects in unprecedented detail.
Key Advantages for Cancer Researchers:
Neuroscientists are at the forefront of unraveling the intricate structures and dynamic processes of the nervous system. From understanding neural circuits to mapping disease progression, the need for high-resolution, volumetric imaging of large, intact brain and spinal cord samples is paramount. SLICE brings a new era of accessibility and performance to neuroscience research, empowering you to gain deeper insights into the brain's complexity.
Key Advantages for Neuroscientists:
To truly understand how engineered tissues integrate, differentiate, vascularize, and function, researchers need tools that can visualize these complex processes without compromising the integrity or viability of precious samples. SLICE provides an accessible and powerful solution, empowering breakthroughs in tissue engineering and regenerative therapies.
Key Advantages for Regenerative Medicine & Tissue Engineering:
From brain atlas registration to deconvolution, the SLICE analysis software suite brings together our most advanced tools: NeuroInfo, Neurolucida 360, Stereo Investigator, and NeuroDeblur, into one streamlined workflow for your light sheet microscopy data.
The most advanced software for automatic 3D neuron and vessel reconstruction.
The complete stereology solution. The gold standard for unbiased cell counting.
The premier deconvolution and artifact removal software for large 3D microscopy datasets.
Accurate brain atlas registration and AI-driven cell and biomarker quantification.
Read our white paper on how to streamline handling, processing, and analyzing extensive datasets from light sheet microscopes, allowing researchers to prioritize scientific discovery over data management challenges.
Ready for Any Challenge
SLICE has been rigorously tested on a wide range of samples:
Technical Support and Documentation
Our team provides comprehensive support to ensure optimal system performance:
In our recent discussions, we’ve introduced SLICE as a revolutionary light sheet microscope, making high-performance 3D imaging accessible for under $75,000.
For years, light sheet microscopy has stood out as a powerful technique, enabling stunning 3D imaging of large, live, and delicate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MBF Bioscience Introduces SLICE™: We Reimagined Light Sheet Microscopes From the Ground Up Breakthrough system combines
MBF products are used across the globe by the most prestigious laboratories.
The utility of MBF’s products is underscored by the number of references it receives in the world’s leading scientific publications. See examples below:
Horejs, CM.
Low-cost, high-performance light-sheet microscopyView Publication
Chen, Y., Chauhan, S., Gong, C. et al.
Low-cost and scalable projected light-sheet microscopy for the high-resolution imaging of cleared tissue and living samplesView Publication
SLICE is The New Standard in Light Sheet Microscopy. It's a high-performance 3D imaging system that uniquely combines superior image quality with unprecedented affordability (under $75,000) and an all-inclusive annual support model ($5,000 covering hardware and BrightSLICE software). Unlike legacy systems that are expensive and complex, SLICE democratizes access to breakthrough light sheet imaging.
SLICE's affordability is a result of innovative optical design and next-generation engineering. We've streamlined the optical path and leveraged modern, high-performance components to achieve superior results without the exorbitant manufacturing costs associated with older, more complex designs. This allows us to pass significant savings directly to your lab.
Absolutely not. SLICE delivers demonstrably superior image quality, with clearer, higher-resolution images and increased signal-to-noise than many traditional, more expensive systems. Our innovative design focuses on efficiency and precision, not just cost reduction.
Yes, SLICE is available globally through our network of direct sales and strategic international distribution partners. Please contact us to find a distributor in your region.
Absolutely! Our Specimen Imaging Service allows you to send us your prepared samples. We will image them on a SLICE system and return the raw data files and processed movies for your evaluation. This is a highly recommended way to assess SLICE's performance with your own critical samples.
No, SLICE does not require a specialized vibration isolation table or "air table." Its innovative design prioritizes accessibility and flexible lab placement. The system is engineered as a compact, benchtop device, allowing it to be comfortably situated on any stable lab bench or table. This design also enables placement in various environments, including small lab spaces. This approach aligns with SLICE's core advantage of providing high-performance 3D imaging with "unprecedented affordability," making advanced light sheet microscopy accessible without the added expense and space requirements of specialized equipment.
BrightSLICE is our powerful, integrated software suite that comes included with every SLICE system. It provides a seamless workflow for data acquisition, real-time processing, stunning 3D visualization, and advanced quantitative analysis. This comprehensive functionality means you don't need to purchase or manage separate, expensive third-party software for your light sheet data.
SLICE is optimized for a wide range of cleared samples, including whole rodent brains and organs, fish brains and organs, organoids, tumor spheroids, and other 3D cell cultures. It's compatible with virtually all major optical clearing methods.
SLICE offers impressive specifications for high-impact 3D imaging, including a lateral resolution of ~0.75 μm (with a 10x objective), axial resolution of 5μm-8μm, and imaging speeds of up to 17 frames per second. It supports three excitation lasers (455nm, 520nm, 640nm) for multi-color imaging.
Yes. SLICE is engineered for intuitive setup and streamlined workflows, significantly reducing the learning curve. Our goal is to maximize your time on experimentation and data acquisition, not instrument operation.
Your transparent $5,000 annual support fee covers comprehensive hardware maintenance, ongoing BrightSLICE software updates, and direct technical support from our expert team. We are committed to ensuring your system runs optimally and your research progresses smoothly.
Yes, we provide comprehensive training to ensure you and your team can quickly become proficient with SLICE and BrightSLICE software. This includes remote and, where feasible, on-site training options.
You can request a personalized demonstration. We offer virtual demos, and our Specimen Imaging Service, where we image your samples for you. In select strategic cases, on-site demos may also be arranged. Please fill out this for more information.
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Our service sets us apart, with a team that includes Ph.D. neuroscientists, experts in microscopy, stereology, neuron reconstruction, and image processing. We’ve also developed a host of additional support services, including:
At MBF, we’ve spent decades understanding the needs of researchers and their labs — and have a suite of products and solutions that have been specifically designed for the needs of today’s most important and advanced labs. Our commitment to you is to spend time with you discussing the needs of your lab — so that we can make sure the solutions we provide for you are exactly what you’ll need. It’s part of our commitment to supporting you — before, during, and after you’ve made your decision. We look forward to talking with you!
