While classical lightsheet architectures (e.g. SPIM and variants) use orthogonal lenses to couple illumination and detection, sample mounting through conventional sample carriers (dish, plate, ...) is usually not possible. iSPIM and lattice lightsheet are exceptions, but they requires lenses to dip into to dish.

For applications requiring to conserve the top of the sample free of hardware in inverted geometry, e.g. high-content imaging on inverted microscopes,

a number of lightsheet-based technologies enable to introduce lightsheet illumination from the bottom, without compromising the use of conventional carriers.

These include (all for fluorescence):

- Oblique Illumination: lightsheet planar illumination is introduced through the detection objective lens, at an angle from the image plane of that objective lens. The image is then redressed through the use of one or two downstream microscopes. 

Variants:

- Oblique plane microscopy (OPM) and dual view dOPM,

SCAPE, eSPIM, Da-Xi

- Single objective SPIM (soSPIM and alike):

The lightsheet is created through or around the detection objective lens, but in this reflected on a mirror to make it coplanar with the image plane. The mirror is inside the sample carrier (i.e. micromirrors channels).

- Open-Top lightsheet: This category includes many variants that all share a common aspect: lightsheet illumination and fluorescence detection are set below the sample carrier and enable one to use and move conventional carriers. Multiscale imaging can be implemented by using up to 3 objectives lenses at various angles and magnifications.

Known commercial partners: ASI )