# High Sensitivity sCMOS Camera System for Transmission Electron Microscope

> **NIH NIH S10** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $147,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
This proposal represents a request from a group of NIH-funded investigators with overlapping imaging needs for
funding to acquire a new high-sensitivity CMOS camera to facilitate the visualization of both cellular sand sub-
cellular ultrastructure at the nanoscale. The camera will be installed on an existing Transmission Electron
Microscope that is already housed in the Washington University Center for Cellular Imaging (WUCCI); an
institution-wide shared technology resource based at the School of Medicine. The current camera installed on
the TEM in the WUCCI is over 15 years old, is starting to suffer from an increasing number of dead pixels and
does not provide the signal-to-noise ratios needed to facilitate the work of the Major and Minor User projects
described herein. The AMT NanoSprint15 Mk-II is a new 15 Megapixel scintillated CMOS camera system
providing unparalleled signal-to-noise across many different sample types. Thirteen investigators from ten
different departments across the Schools of Medicine and Arts & Sciences will make use of this new and
improved camera platform to enable a wide-range of research studies aimed at understanding the molecular
mechanisms of viral infection, vascular malformation, endocrine dysfunction, neurodegeneration, metabolic
homeostasis, axonal regeneration and mechanosensation as well aid in the development of novel
nanotherapeutic approaches to treat cancer and inflammatory conditions. The expertise and institutional support
for this instrument are exceptional. Dr. James Fitzpatrick, the Scientific Director of WUCCI, and Dr. David Piston,
the Chair of Cell Biology & Physiology and head of the WUCCI Advisory Board, are both world-renowned experts
in cellular microscopy and their combined leadership brings over 40 years of experience in providing cost-
efficient training and support for high quality quantitative light and electron microscopy to a wide range of NIH-
funded users. In support of this S10 grant application, the institution will also commit $100,000 ($20,000 per year
for five years) to ensure the long-term success of this equipment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10414332
- **Project number:** 1S10OD032186-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** David W Piston
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $147,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-05-15 → 2023-05-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10414332

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10414332, High Sensitivity sCMOS Camera System for Transmission Electron Microscope (1S10OD032186-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10414332. Licensed CC0.

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