Isis FISH Imaging System

General

MetaSystems Isis is widely recognized as the fastest and most flexible color fluorescence (FISH) imaging system. Isis combines ease of use and a functionality that meets the needs of even the most demanding research applications. The automatic image acquisition functionality captures even low light level fluorescent images with up to 9 color channels. Isis provides a variety of tools to enhance, edit, annotate, archive, measure, and print the images. The optimized user interface guarantees rapid results in research and in routine work. With the new version 5.0 the color management became even easier. Pre-defined false color definitions can now be stored as extra files and, thus, applied to other images, shared with colleagues, and archived.
Isis can be either installed as stand-alone system or seamlessly integrated with an Ikaros workstation. Options for color karyotyping, CGH,   mFISH and mBAND as well as for automatic telomere measurement are available.
With the new version 5.0 the color management became even easier. Pre-defined false color definitions can now be stored as extra files and, thus, applied to other images, shared with colleagues, and archived.

Isis Options and Links
Isis supports full karyotyping functionality with the optional color karyotyping module	more...
mFISH is a module for the FISH imaging software Isis.	more...
The mFISH module provides the analysis of fluorochrome banded chromosomes (mBAND)	more...
The CGH module allows to perform comparative genomic hybridization with Isis	more...
Telomere analysis can be done with the Isis telomere measurement software module	more...
Isis seamlessly integrates in the slide scanning system Metafer	more...

If connected to an appropriate microscope, Isis controls filter block change, focus position and objectives. Automatic image capture, acquisition of focus stacks, or an auto-focus function are thus feasible. If a focus stack has been captured, the software automatically creates an extended focus image, with each signal being in focus. The individual focus images can be stored separately.

Like in the Ikaros karyotyping software, Isis has an integrated patient database and various tools to manage and evaluate the data. Being part of the software package, the archiving software MetaArchive tracks all the work and takes care of secure and complete archiving onto magneto-optical disks.

A unique program configuration management provides highest flexibility for the different requirements in a FISH laboratory. An unlimited number of software setting definitions can be created and stored as so-called Experiment Types. Each Experiment Type defines many parameters, such as the number and type of fluorochromes, the use of the automatic image enhancement tools, user specific data and many more. With just one mouse click the user can change from one Experiment Type to another and change the way how Isis is capturing and enhancing the images.

Any image can be shown in various color modes: greyscale, merged colors, false colors or inverted colors. Each color channel can be examined individually, and all functions can be applied either to one single color channel or to all channels at the same time. The image shown at the leftt shows a metaphase labelled with XCP whole chromosome paints for three chromosome pairs. The panel shows the original image, as it was captured, the pre-processed image in standard RGB display mode, a greyscale counterstain image and the final merged color view with inverted DAPI image (from top left to bottom right). The different views are created in seconds, and due to the enhanced data storage strategy of Isis the original image can be retrieved at any time.

The Color Karyotyping Module

Color karyotyping for Isis is an optional software module which can be installed on existing FISH imaging systems. It provides full karyotyping features for fluorescence images and supports the special tools needed for karyotyping multicolor (mFISH) images.

Chromosomes can be separated automatically and manually, using the inverted counterstain image as reference. With the convenient classification function the chromosomes can be classified and semi-automatically annotated in the metaphase view. Assignment to the chromosome classes is performed automatically based on DAPI banding patterns or color information (mFISH module). Metaphase and karyotype image can be switched to various color views like false color view, inverted counterstain view, single color view and others.

The integrated karyotype form editor allows the adaptation of the Color Karyotyping Module to any species. The system comes with a variety of karyotype forms.

Scanning Upgrade

The integration of Isis with the Metafer fluorescence slide scanning system provides automatic search of fluorescent metaphases MSearch), rare cell detection (RCDetect) or detection and counting of FISH signals in interphase cells (MetaCyte - spot counting).

Detected objects are displayed in the Metafer image gallery and can be automatically relocated for acqisition with Isis.

Isis can either be installed as full version, analysis station, or as capture module. While the full version provides all features like a stand-alone system the latter allow to capture high magnification images into the Isis file format, or to display and analyze images captured on another station. These images can be opened and analyzed by Isis workstations connected to the Metafer system via network.