flimera

The HORIBA flimera is a widefield fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) camera system designed for fast, sensitive lifetime imaging in live-cell biology and biomedical research. The flimera uses a frequency-domain (homodyne) detection approach implemented in a compact camera head, enabling real-time FLIM acquisition at video rates for monitoring dynamic cellular processes. This is in contrast to TCSPC-based scanning FLIM which requires longer acquisition times, making the flimera ideal for experiments where speed is critical – including live-cell imaging of FRET biosensors for protein kinase activity, second messenger dynamics, and metabolic FLIM using NAD(P)H autofluorescence. The flimera mounts on the camera port of standard wide-field or spinning-disk confocal microscopes without modification, and works with standard pulsed laser excitation. The system captures phase and modulation lifetime images simultaneously across the full field of view, enabling high-speed lifetime maps with spatial resolution limited only by the host microscope’s optics. FlimFit software provides real-time lifetime calculation and display. The flimera is particularly suited for metabolic imaging using FLIM of NADH fluorescence, where bound vs. free NADH fractions report on cellular metabolic state. NewRoad provides the HORIBA flimera in Israel for cell biology, metabolic imaging, and live-cell FRET biosensor experiments.