Instrument Reliability
Quality & Reliability
We conduct routine testing and maintenance on every microscope so that you can rely on the accuracy and integrity of your imaging data — from acquisition to publication. All procedures and results are documented and available to users at any time.
Quality Control Standards
Testing Protocols
Systematic checks at weekly, monthly, and quarterly intervals ensure every system meets our performance standards before your experiment begins.
Weekly
Visual Inspection Protocol
- Visual inspection of all optical components
- Maintenance of system cleanliness
- Verification of mechanical stability
- Documentation of any issues found
- Immediate addressing of minor problems
Monthly
Performance Baseline Testing
- Control slides imaged with standardized settings
- Results compared against established baselines
- Early identification of potential issues
- Consistent imaging quality verification
- Systematic performance documentation over time
Quarterly
In-Depth Optical Evaluation
- Illumination stability and uniformity verification
- Optical alignment and performance assessment
- Mechanical component and precision testing
- System calibration validation
- Full documentation of all measurements
Leadership
Community & Standards
- Active member — BINA QC & Data Management Working Group
- Implementation of international best practices for calibration
- Regular documentation and updating of all QC procedures
- Comprehensive tracking of system performance history
Through the Lens of Precision: Ensuring Quality at MDIBL’s Light Microscopy Facility
Watch at 21:20 →
Performance Standards
Our Performance Standards
We continuously monitor instrument performance to ensure optimal image quality and system reliability across all imaging systems.
97%
System Uptime
Across all imaging systems
<2 wk
Avg Resolution Time
From issue report to fix
140 nm
Confocal Resolution
LSM 980 Airyscan 2
100%
QC Compliance
All tests documented
QC Test Gallery
Ensuring Your Data Quality
Every test we perform protects the integrity of your data. These images show how we verify resolution, illumination uniformity, and chromatic alignment across all systems.
Illumination uniformity over the field of view
XY shift during Z-stack acquisition
Grid pattern — lateral (Y) resolution
3D reconstruction accuracy test
Point Spread Function — fluorescent bead
Argolight slide — multi-metric testing
Pattern to analyze shift during Z-stacking
Raw ring pattern — 3D reconstruction
Raw grid pattern — X-axis resolution
Further Reading
Quality Control Resources
Key publications and guidelines on microscopy quality assurance and reproducibility.
QUAREP-LiMi: A community-driven initiative to establish guidelines for quality assessment and reproducibility for instruments and images in light microscopy
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Reproducibility in light microscopy: Maintenance, standards and SOPs
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A guide to accurate reporting in digital image acquisition — can anyone replicate your microscopy data?
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Chapter 4 — A Practical Guide to Microscope Care and Maintenance
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Tutorial: Guidance for Quantitative Confocal Microscopy
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Have a question?
Request our full QC documentation
All test results and maintenance records are available to users on request. Contact us to access protocols or discuss your experiment’s reliability requirements.