Fig. 1.

High-speed, low-cost, portable multispectral optical imaging system. The system consists of four principal elements: an IEEE 1394 Firewire camera, a camera control computer, a programmable microcontroller, and modulatable light sources (LEDs are shown here). Strobed illumination is driven via the microcontroller and derived from the TTL ‘Camera Exposure Signal’ generated by the camera. Data from the camera is streamed to the computer’s hard disk. All components of the system are modular and can be replaced with compatible pieces of hardware (for example, the LEDs can be replaced with laser diodes). An optional ‘stimulus control computer’ is also shown which can be used to drive external triggers or stimuli and/or log experimental parameters such as animal physiology.