A video-rate laser scanning microscope was developed as an imaging engine to integrate with other photonic building blocks to fulfill various microscopic imaging applications. The system is quipped with diode laser source, resonant scanner, galvo scanner, control electronic and computer loaded with data acquisition boards and imaging software. Based on an open frame design, the system can be combined with varies optics to perform the functions of fluorescence confocal microscopy, multi-photon microscopy and backscattering confocal microscopy. Mounted to the camera port, it allows a traditional microscope to obtain confocal images at video rate. In this paper, we will describe the design principle and demonstrate examples of applications.