We are trying to buy a spinning disk confocal microscope and the issue of dust in the Yokogawa units has come up. Olympus just released their version of their spinning disk confocal microscope and are using the Yokogawa spinning disk unit. Any commnets on this will be appreciated. Ansod said that they took care of this issue.
We have 3 CSU-X1 and dust in the head has not been a problem for us.
Thank you Jennifer this is really informative.
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We have 2 CSU-X1 and also never experienced dust issues. What I have heard is that dust is more of an issue with the CSU-W1. Though there was effort from Yokogawa to improve the dust issue.
Josef
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We just had Nikon and Olympus on campus for W1/Sora spinning disk confocal demos. Yes, the W1-Sora unit that Olympus brought had a dust problem. They cleaned it and it was a lot better. They explained that this is due to the transportation of the demo unit. The W1 unit that Nikon brought did not have a dust problem. Maybe because we are among the first few in the US to demo their W1 unit? Thanks for your post! Now I know that this could be a potential problem…Just to let people know, the iSIM system we demoed also had a dust problem 
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Thank you I appreciate taking time to write this.
Thank you Josef this is useful.
We’ve had a CSU-W1 since March 2019. We have had ~5 dust particles present in images with 405 nm excitation for months, but nothing that affected data analysis. Just yesterday, after reading your post, we gained some dust on one of the disks (I’m presuming). Our images show a single, bright arc when using the 405 nm laser, and I’ve ruled out every component I can get my hands on. It wasn’t there a day ago!!
Our scope room is always clean and nearly dust-free.
Thank you Bohannon this is is worrisome. Do you clean this or they come and clean it. Can I ask if was a custom system or bought from a microscope company?
I’d like to learn to clean it myself, but for now we’re getting support on this issue from the company that sold us the unit (as part of a bespoke system). This seems like a solvable problem and I love using the W1… so I’m not losing any sleep here!
Thank you again for this.
We have 2 CSU-X1 and 4 CSU-W1.
The CSU-X1s never had any dust.
The CSU-W1s show regularly a new dust particle on one or both disks, vsisible with some or all wavelength. Totally sporadic, impossible to predict, still improved since Yokogawa acknowledged the problem and builds-in some dust protective element. Not 100% dust-proof though.
One of our W1-based system is a CV7000, which is enclosed in a huge box, and there we did not have any dust over the last 4 years.
The cleaning is extremely delicate. We have the company (Visitron) usually coming on-site, and it is a delicate operation, as the scan-head has to be opened and all internal components exposed to the dust in the environment/room/facility. We always take the risk though, otherwise we would need to unmount the scan-head and put it under a hood for cleaning, which is a big hassle.
Still, W1-based scopes are marvelous (!) and this does not prevent me from buying right now an additional one 
Best,
Laurent.
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Thank you Igelman for your help with this question.
Hi, I’ve worked with Yokogawa products since the CSU-10. I have also worked with Yokogawa during the development stage of the newer products. I’m at an expert level.
The CSU-W1 are prone to dust, and if you decide to buy one then expect dust issues especially on the DAPI line but there are measures to prevent. If you would like to discuss the product further, feel free to message me. I am not sales but I do someday plan to develop my own support forum for microscopy.
If you see a bright arc, then its dust on the disk. please do not attempt to clean as if can damage the disk.
If you are under service contract then contact them, if not I can help remove this arc. please message me.