I have a M205A stereoscope that I would love to control via Micromanager. I have my digital camera working through the uManager, but I’d love to also gain control of the motorized focus for stacking.
I read a few posts in the archives about the same desire, but I did not see any evidence for a good solution.
One person seemed hopeful, writing:
The answer is probably yes, if you want to control stuff like focus and zoom. Leica uses an ascii based protocol via virtual serial port for this, and they have apparently not changed that protocol for years.
I’d very much enjoy hearing from anybody that has been successful at controlling the focus or zoom function.
Erik,
Thank you for your interest in this problem!
The good news for me is that I’ve been able to control the Leica camera and Marzhauser stage (Blue Oasis controller) using Micro-Manager. This means that I can execute an x-y stitch. The only thing left for me to figure out is control of the Z-axis, for which the motor and controller are integral to the M205A stand. I can control the Z-position using a Leica dial controller and also with the LAS core software but I don’t have the special software module that allows me to execute an automated Z-stack. The perfect solution would be to gain access to the Z-motor using Micro-Manager.
It is unfamiliar territory for me, but I’ll explore whether I can find .NET API information for the M205A.
No I haven’t worked with Micromanager. I’ve worked with Zeiss & Olympus microscopes. Automating both with .NET approach. Which was easier with Zeiss compared to Olympus due to the MTB API being well documented. From my understanding you would have to create a new plugin for micromanager maybe ask this question on image.sc as well since more people view that forum. If you want to automate windows be sure to get inspect.exe which is useful in seeing what elements the program has.
I had some success getting Micro-Manager to run the microscope’s camera and also its motorized x-y stage. However, I did not figure out a way to control the Z-axis motor. I’ve been able to stitch using Micro-Manager but not do focus stacking. I’d love to hear from you if you learn how to do it.
Hi Rob, I managed to write a device adapter for the for the motorised z-drive on the Leica scope. It works just fine. However, I first had to obtain the SDK for this from Leica and I am not able to share the drivers that came with the SDK, which are needed by the MM device adapter that I cobbled together. I am under some kind of license restriction. If you are able to obtain the SDK yourself (just ask the local rep, it will take a few weeks before central office responds), then I would be able to share my device adapter with you.
No worries. Ask for the SDK. They will probably ask you to find and provide them the serial number of the motordrive. Good luck and let us know when you have it. The three zipped files (folders) I received were AHM_SDK_V2023.3.0.12509.zip, SDK_Hardware_Configurator_2023.3.0.12509.zip and UCAPI_SDK_V2023.3.0.12509.zip. It is the first one I used and AHM represents “Abstract Hardware Model”. Good luck.
I contacted Leica, and they have been very kind communicators. However, I’m still waiting for a decision on my SDK request.
I’m wondering if there is a way to communicate directly. I’m unsure whether posting my email is allowed, and I don’t see an option for a personal message to you.
I’ll let you know when I learn more about the SDK. I just wanted to reach out with this update.