Associate Professor Ruth Empson, of the university's department of physiology and Brain Health Research Centre, told the Herald the microscope would "revolutionise" research in New Zealand.
Having the ability to see deep into a previously impenetrable structure like the brain, and measure its electrical activity, would boost our understanding of how complex networks of brain cells use electrical impulses to communicate with one another.
"We will be able to see how these impulses change or malfunction in response to a brain trauma such as a stroke, or diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's," she said.
"We will also be able to visualise changes in brain structure during development, across puberty, right through to old age."
Directed elsewhere in the body, the microscope could visualise how dysfunctions of the heart create cardiac arrhythmias, how cells contribute to wound-healing processes, or how bacteria enter cells to create infections.
While the researchers were learning more about the microscope's power, a new study had already been built around the first images it produced.
"We've taken images to look at the neurons that are important for driving movement and how they function, which are increasingly important for disorders like Parkinson's disease and perhaps less known movement disorders like ataxia. We'd love to be able to see the signals in the brain that are driving the movements that are being made."
The device would be used solely for research purposes, but clinicians around the country would be able to access it, Professor Empson said.
Neurological Foundation executive director Max Ritchie also welcomed the new device.
