This component is designed to hold the UCLA Miniscope (v4, BNO enabled) in place above a biological sample. I designed it for the Groover Lab at the US Forest Service Northern Research Station in Burlington, VT, inspired by a similar design created by Dr. Reed Sorenson and Al Ingold.

The Groover Lab uses imaging and genomics tools to understand the growth and physiology of trees. Ongoing projects include investigating the genetic regulation of wood formation in response to drought stress, developing new proteomic approaches for the study of wood traits of ecological and economic importance, and developing new approaches to combat invasive tree pathogens.

The goal of our work with the Miniscope is to implant the device into live trees, and film the process of wood formation as it happens. We are currently testing the system by filming the growth of the American chestnut blight fungus on a piece of a branch from its host, the American chestnut tree (see photos). Crucially, the custom 3D printed Miniscope holder allows us to hold the device in one place over multiple days while we record time lapse videos.

Huge thank you to Adam Repash at the University of Vermont Howe Library Multimedia Lab for printing all of my iterations of this project!

UltiMaker

Ultimaker S5

No

No

0.15mm

20%

1.2 wall thickness
Build Plate Adhesion: brim

I measured the Miniscope with digital calipers and input the dimensions into my sketch in Fusion 360. I then iterated through printing the component, testing its fit with the Miniscope, and adjusting as needed.