August 10, 20007 — Imaging equipment maker FEI Company and the independent, non-profit biomedical research organization The Scripps Institute have announced that Leginon software, which enables automated control and image acquisition from a transmission electron microscope (TEM), will now be available as open source code. Leginon was developed by Scripps with funding from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health and has been marketed by FEI since 2003. It is most commonly used for single particle analysis (SPA) applications, where three-dimensional models of nanoscale particles are created.

The Leginon software enables TEM users to collect very large numbers of high-quality images of macromolecules under low-dose conditions. The automated system is integrated with a database that keeps track of all acquired images, associated imaging parameters, and the relationship between images acquired from the same target at a variety of scales. The application helps improve throughput for single-particle data acquisition, both by increasing the number of images acquired as well as the number of different specimens that can be imaged and analyzed.

“The widespread availability of this proven and highly functional software will accelerate scientific discovery and development in life sciences for many years to come,” said Matt Harris, vice president of FEI’s NanoBiology division.