  By integrating a phase-only Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) into the
illumination arm of a cylindrical-lens-based Selective Plane Illumination
Microscope (SPIM), we have created a versatile system able to deliver high
quality images by operating in a wide variety of different imaging modalities.
When placed in a Fourier plane, the SLM permits modulation of the microscope's
light-sheet to implement imaging techniques such as structured illumination,
tiling, pivoting, autofocusing and pencil beam scanning. Previous publications
on dedicated microscope setups have shown how these techniques can deliver
improved image quality by rejecting out-offocus light (structured illumination
and pencil beam scanning), reducing shadowing (light-sheet pivoting), and
obtaining a more uniform illumination by moving the highest-resolution region
of the light-sheet across the imaging Field of View (tiling). Our SLM-SPIM
configuration is easy to build and use, and has been designed to allow all of
these techniques to be employed on one optical setup compatible with the
OpenSPIM design. It also offers the possibility to choose between three
different light-sheets, in thickness and height, which can be selected
according to the characteristics of the sample and the imaging technique to be
applied. We demonstrate the flexibility and performance of the system with
results obtained by applying a variety of different imaging techniques on
samples of fluorescent beads, Zebrafish embryos, and optically cleared whole
mouse brain samples. Thus our approach allows easy implementation of advanced
imaging techniques while retaining the simplicity of a cylindrical-lens-based
light-sheet microscope.
