Hydrodynamic Treadmill: Novel tracking microscope to observe biotic/abiotic systems as they move over large distances

Stanford researchers have developed a hydrodynamic treadmill system for a tracking microscope that allows long term observations of biological and abiotic systems over large length and time scales. It is very challenging to study small objects (1um to 1mm) that move great distances (hundreds of meters) because it is difficult to bridge the vast difference in scales between the observed object and the observation volume. Current optical tracking systems are non-ideal as they are large, complicated, expensive and cannot accommodate the full range of expected motion.

To overcome these limitations the inventors have developed a hydrodynamic treadmill for a tracking microscope that effectively provides unlimited space for vertical motion. It allows micro/mesoscale (1um to1mm) biotic and abiotic systems to be tracked and observed under the influence of hydrodynamic forces and a gravitational field. The system allows for observations over extensive time (tens of hours) and long length scale (hundreds of meters). This technology provides a method to bridge the difference in scales and enable the observation of really small entities over great distances.