Scenario A: Customer Has an Existing Two-Photon / Confocal System and Wants to Upgrade Control and Acquisition

Description: You may already have scanners, lasers, PMTs / detectors, and older LabVIEW, DAQ, or custom-written software. The system can image, but it is difficult to maintain and expand.

Direction: We are not asking you to replace all of them. Instead, HMM serve as a new control and acquisition layer. The HMM API can integrate scanner control, laser control, detector gain, triggers, markers, and image callbacks, turning the control layer of an existing system into a programmable, scalable, and verifiable platform.

Key value points:

• Preserve existing optics and detector assets.
• Reduce the maintenance burden of legacy LabVIEW / DAQ customization.
• Build reusable API workflows.
• Make it easier to add marker triggers, Z-dependent power / gain, or external automation in the future.​

Scenario B: Customer Uses a Resonant Scanner and Cares Most About Synchronization and Valid Images

Description: You​ have a resonant scanner and often faces issues such as external line trigger, frame timing, frequency readback, and determining valid image regions.

Direction: HMM RS mode is designed for resonant scanner integration. The API can set resonant drive / sync, read frequency, and build scanning workflows under external line trigger. This means the resonant scanner is not only able to scan; it can be stably integrated into record or external-synchronization workflows.

Key value points:

• Supports RS external line trigger.
• Sets resonant drive / sync through AO2.
• Can output synchronization triggers.
• Suitable for high-speed two-photon imaging.

Scenario C: Customer Builds Galvo-Galvo Confocal / Two-Photon Systems

Description: You are using regular galvo-galvo scanning and needs raster scan, pixels per line, lines per frame, line frequency, laser power, PMT gain, and image callbacks.

Direction: HMM supports not only resonant scanning, but also galvo-galvo scanning. For regular confocal or two-photon systems, the HMM API can provide scanner waveform control, laser control, detector gain, image callbacks, and trigger control. Customers can use these APIs to quickly build their own Live, Record, or Time-Lapse functions.

Key value points:

• Suitable for standard confocal / two-photon systems.
• Scanning parameters can be managed through configuration files.
• Supports integrated laser / gain / image callback workflows.
• Applicable to both self-built and upgraded systems.

Scenario D: Customer Needs Piezo / ETL Z Sweep or Fast Z Imaging

Description: You need rapid Z changes or wants to use Piezo / ETL for a small-range fast Z stack.

Direction: The HMM API can control Piezo / ETL Z through AO3. Users can update AO3 during acquisition and also update Static AO for laser power or detector gain. This is suitable for Fast Z, depth sweep, or power / gain correction in deep imaging.

Key value points:

• AO3 AO3 controls Piezo / ETL (but not motorized Z stage)
• Laser power / PMT gain can be updated at different Z steps.
• Suitable for fast stack or depth-dependent correction.

Scenario E: Customer Performs External Stimulation-Synchronized Experiments

Description: You may perform calcium imaging, electrical stimulation, optogenetics, drug perfusion, behavior-triggered imaging, or physiology experiments.

Direction: HMM provides Marker Input to read external TTL signals. Users can connect stimulation devices, perfusion systems, or external controllers to HMM Marker inputs. During recording, upper-level software can obtain marker states for each valid image, so later analysis can determine whether Marker 1-4 was High or Low for each frame. Marker trigger can also be used to start recording and avoid missing stimulus onset.

Key value points:

• Align images with external stimulation.
• Suitable for physiology imaging.
• Suitable for calcium / voltage imaging.
• Reduces alignment errors during post-processing.

Scenario F: Customer Requires XY Mosaic or Large-Area Tissue Mapping

Description: You need to scan a large-area sample, but the HMM API does not include XY Motorized Stage control.

Direction: This application should be positioned as HMM working alongside the customer’s existing XY stage controller / SDK. Customer software first moves to the next tile through its own stage SDK; after position completion is confirmed, it calls the HMM API to acquire the image. HMM handles scan, trigger, marker, and image callback at each position; XY movement and stage position retrieval are handled on the customer side.

Key value points:

• HMM API does not directly controls the XY stage.
• HMM can work with an external stage-control workflow.
• Tile index / stage position metadata should be integrated by the upper-level software.
• Suitable for system integrators that already have their own stage SDK.

Scenario G: Customer Is an OEM or System Integrator

Description: You are not a single lab, but a microscope builder, OEM partner, system integrator, or software team with its own UI.

Direction: HMM can serve as the low-level microscopy control engine. The upper-level UI can be developed by the customer, while the HMM API provides core control capabilities such as scanner control, laser control, detector gain, Piezo / ETL Z, triggers, markers, and image callbacks. If the customer has its own motorized stage, customer software integrates it through the external stage SDK.

Key value points:

• Suitable for OEM integration.
• Suitable for integration with customer-owned UI.
• Can serve as a low-level control engine.
• Reduces scanner / trigger / image callback integration time.