Openspim

• Source: [@pitrone2013OpenSPIM: an open-access light-sheet microscopy platform]

The OpenSPIM is perhaps one of the best known Open Hardware microscopy tools. It's a light sheet microscope, built with common Thorlabs parts and few custom-built parts.

However, I always kept the doubt of whether Is OpenSPIM a good example of open hardware? It's documentation is stuck in time. 3D models have mistakes and the maintainers refuse to update them (even after offering the fixes.)

One of the challenges with the OpenSPIM is that it was designed violating several patents (actually filed by one of the authors, Jan Huisken). And smaller ones related to the chamber and other variations of the setup.

The OpenSPIM is still credited as one of the most successful open microscopes around. I am not sure. I haven't found many users and their maintainers are missing, left academia, or simply don't care. Perhaps it's the traditional distortion created by the fact that scientific incentives push to build new not build on.

I believe the mesoSPIM is a much more valuable resource. Maintainers are still active and they generate a wealth of knowledge (objective characterization, software, mechanics) that far extends the immediate application of their tool.