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Digital microscope
 
 
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A digital microscope uses optics
Optics

Optics is the study of the behavior and properties of light including its optical phenomena with matter and its imaging by optical instruments....
 and a charge-coupled device
Charge-coupled device

A charge-coupled device is an analog signal shift register that enables the transportation of analog signals through successive stages , controlled by a clock signal....
 (CCD) camera to output a digital image to a monitor. A digital microscope differs from an optical microscope
Optical microscope

The optical microscope, often referred to as the "light microscope", is a type of microscope which uses visible light and a system of lens to magnify images of small samples....
 in that there is no provision to observe the sample directly through an eye piece. Since optical image is projected directly on the CCD camera, the entire system is designed for the monitor image. The optics for the human eye are not figured into the design parameters.

first digital microscope was made by a lens company in Tokyo, Japan in 1986.






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A digital microscope uses optics
Optics

Optics is the study of the behavior and properties of light including its optical phenomena with matter and its imaging by optical instruments....
 and a charge-coupled device
Charge-coupled device

A charge-coupled device is an analog signal shift register that enables the transportation of analog signals through successive stages , controlled by a clock signal....
 (CCD) camera to output a digital image to a monitor. A digital microscope differs from an optical microscope
Optical microscope

The optical microscope, often referred to as the "light microscope", is a type of microscope which uses visible light and a system of lens to magnify images of small samples....
 in that there is no provision to observe the sample directly through an eye piece. Since optical image is projected directly on the CCD camera, the entire system is designed for the monitor image. The optics for the human eye are not figured into the design parameters.

History

The first digital microscope was made by a lens company in Tokyo, Japan in 1986. This company is now know as Hirox Co LTd. Hirox's main industry is digital microscopes, but still makes lenses. Hirox's current digital microscope systems are the KH-7700 and the KH-1300. The KH-7700 system has such featurs as 3D rotation and High Dynamic Range
High dynamic range

High dynamic range is a term generally used for media applications such as digital imaging and Digital audio. It is a feature that is capable of producing a much higher dynamic range than what is widely available at the moment....
. Shortly after the invention of the digital microscope, a digital sensor company in Osaka
Osaka

is a Cities of Japan in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshu.Osaka is a City designated by government ordinance under the Local Autonomy Law and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture....
, Japan created a digital microscope. This company is now know as the Keyence Corporation. Keyence offers digital automated sensors, barcode readers, industrial laser markers, laser displacement sensors, optical micrometers, digital microscopes, and confocal laser scanning microscopes.

With the invention of the USB port, there came a flood of digital microscopes that connected directly to the computer. This invention has resulted in numerous companies creating some form of USB digital microscope that range in quality and magnification. They continue to fall in price, especially compared with conventional optical microscope
Optical microscope

The optical microscope, often referred to as the "light microscope", is a type of microscope which uses visible light and a system of lens to magnify images of small samples....
s.

The digital microscope continues to evolve as the technology improves.

Optical and Digital Microscopes

A primary difference between an optical microscope and a digital microscope is the magnification
Magnification

Magnification is the process of enlarging something only in appearance, not in physical size. This enlargement is quantified by a calculated number also called magnification....
. With an optical microscope the magnification is found by multiplying the lens by the eye piece. Since the digital microscope does not have an eye piece, the magnification cannot be found using this method. Instead the magnification for a digital microscope is found by how many times larger the sample is reproduced on the monitor. Therefore the magnification will depend on the size of the monitor. The average digital microscope system has a 15" monitor, and would result in a average difference in magnification between an optical microscope and a digital microscope of about 60%. Thus the magnification number of an optical microscope is usually 60% larger than the magnification number of an digital microscope.

Since the digital microscope has the image projected directly on to the CCD camera it is possible to have higher quality recorded images than an optical microscope. With the optical microscope the lenses are made for the optics of the eye. Attaching a CCD camera to an optical microscope will result in a image that has compromises made for the eye piece. Although the monitor image and recorded image may be of higher quality with the digital microscope, the application for the microscope may dictate which microscope is preferred.

Resolution

Resolution of the image is dependent on the CCD used in the camera. Using a typical 2.11 million pixel CCD, an image with 1600 x 1200 pixels is generated. The resolution of the image is dependent on the field of view of the lens used with the camera. Approximate pixel resolution can be determined by dividing the horizontal field of view
Field of view

The field of view is the angle extent of the observable world that is visual perception at any given moment.The range of visual abilities is not uniform across a field of view, and varies from animal to animal....
 (FOV) by 1600. Most common instruments have a relatively low resolution of 1.3 Mega pixels, but higher resolution cameras are available.

Increased resolution can be accomplished by creating a sub-pixel image. The Pixel Shift Method uses an actuator
Actuator

An actuator is a mechanical device for moving or controlling a mechanism or system....
 to physically move the CCD in order to take multiple overlapping images. By combining the images within the microscope, sub-pixel resolution can be generated. This method provides real sub-pixel information, as compared to simply averaging a standard image. (also called Pixel Extrapolation)

Limitations

Few current models are supplied with stands capable of supporting the camera in a stable way, so it can be racked up and down, for example.

See also

  • Microscope
    Microscope

    A microscope is an Laboratory equipment for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy....
  • High dynamic range
    High dynamic range

    High dynamic range is a term generally used for media applications such as digital imaging and Digital audio. It is a feature that is capable of producing a much higher dynamic range than what is widely available at the moment....
  • Optical microscope
    Optical microscope

    The optical microscope, often referred to as the "light microscope", is a type of microscope which uses visible light and a system of lens to magnify images of small samples....


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