QImaging® Introduces The Rolera™ Bolt Scientific CMOS Camera For High-Speed Fluorescence Imaging QImaging

QImaging announces the release of the Rolera Bolt Scientific CMOS camera, a high-speed imaging alternative that is less than half the cost of most scientific CMOS and CCD cameras. The Rolera Bolt is the latest addition to QImaging’s high-speed, high-sensitivity family of cameras that also includes the recently released Rolera Thunder.

Designed for low-light imaging, the Rolera Bolt is especially suited for biomedical imaging as more research moves toward live-cell and whole organism studies at video frame rates. This includes motility studies where dynamic events (e.g. zebrafish heart contractions, C. elegans tracking, etc.) need to be captured with high spatial and temporal resolution in order to provide the maximum amount of information to the researcher.

The Rolera Bolt is also ideal for life science applications using fluorescent labeling, such as immunofluorescence, live-cell fluorescent imaging, ratiometric imaging, high speed calcium imaging, time-lapse fluoresence and fluoresence in situ hybridization (FISH). Additionally, the Rolera Bolt’s aggressive price point makes scientific CMOS performance accessible to price-sensitive markets, including machine vision and industrial imaging.

The Rolera Bolt’s technical features include a high quantum efficiency 1.3 mega-pixel sensor (3.63 µm x 3.63 µm pixel size) combined with low read noise (~ 3e-) and high-speed (30 fps full resolution) simultaneous readout. Using new Pixel-Freeze Technology™, dark current is reduced to nearly undetectable levels, eliminating the need for an expensive Peltier cooling system. This allows for a lightweight, compact design with minimal power requirements, enabling the Rolera Bolt to utilize a single USB 2.0 connection for both power and 12-bit data transfer.
Because of its smaller pixel size, the Rolera Bolt can be used with lower magnifications to achieve increased signal and field of view. A dynamic range of approximately 4500:1 allows the camera to quantitatively display dim and bright signals in a single image, a range comparable to standard CCD devices.

“Our goal is to provide researchers with an effective scientific CMOS camera that is easily obtainable, even when funding is scarce,” said Chris Ryan, associate product manager of QImaging. “The Rolera Bolt enables more research facilities to easily invest and take full advantage of the performance that only scientific CMOS imaging provides.”