Since the first practical super-resolution structured illumination fluorescence microscopes (SIM) were demonstrated more than two decades ago, the method has become increasingly popular for a wide range of bioimaging applications. The high cost and relative inflexibility of commercial systems, coupled with the conceptual simplicity of the approach and the desire to exploit and customize existing hardware, have led to the development of a large number of home-built systems. Several detailed hardware designs are available in the scientific literature, complemented by open-source software tools for SIM image validation and reconstruction. However, there remains a lack of simple open-source software to control these systems and manage the synchronization between hardware components, which is critical for effective SIM imaging. This article describes a new suite of software tools based on the popular Micro-Manager package, which enable the keen microscopist to develop and run a SIM system. We use the software to control two custom-built, high-speed, spatial light modulator-based SIM systems, evaluating their performance by imaging a range of fluorescent samples. By simplifying the process of SIM hardware development, we aim to support wider adoption of the technique.

This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Super-resolution structured illumination microscopy (part 1)’.

自从二十多年前第一个实用的超分辨率结构照明荧光显微镜 (SIM) 被展示以来，该方法在广泛的生物成像应用中变得越来越流行。商业系统的高成本和相对不灵活，加上该方法的概念简单以及开发和定制现有硬件的愿望，导致了大量自制系统的开发。科学文献中提供了几种详细的硬件设计，并辅以用于 SIM 图像验证和重建的开源软件工具。然而，仍然缺乏简单的开源软件来控制这些系统和管理硬件组件之间的同步，这对于有效的 SIM 成像至关重要。本文介绍了一套基于流行的 Micro-Manager 软件包的新软件工具，它使敏锐的显微镜专家能够开发和运行 SIM 系统。我们使用该软件来控制两个定制的、高速的、基于空间光调制器的 SIM 系统，通过对一系列荧光样品进行成像来评估它们的性能。通过简化 SIM 硬件开发过程，我们旨在支持该技术的更广泛采用。

本文是 Theo Murphy 会议问题“超分辨率结构照明显微镜（第 1 部分）”的一部分。