Abstract

Microscopes are key pieces of equipments in materials and biological laboratories, and facilitate medical diagnostic and inspections in production chains. Traditional microscopy companies provide high quality optics in a solid frame for mechanical stability. High end instruments provide automation capabilities and software control that greatly facilitate the acquisition of information. New technologies have led to the development of low cost microscopes that are essentially webcam or digital cameras with a high magnification objectives. While the quality of imaging is often sufficient for simple tasks in education, research or industry, the ability to automate the imaging process remains restricted.

A team of Cambridge students designed and constructed an open platform for microscopy, that aimed to fill this gap and provide a generic framework for the further development of more advanced automated microscopes. It builds on a number of existing tools: beam structure, 3D printed parts, Arduino controllers for stepper motors and Raspberry Pi hardware and software for image acquisition and image processing. These tools are low cost and readily adaptable for construction of other customised scientific devices

See: http://openlabtools.org/Instruments/Microscope/ http://www.scidev.net/global/technology/multimedia/open-source-through-the-lens-of-a-microscope.html http://youtu.be/hvATzguxkwo

An OpenLabTools project: OpenLabTools is a new initiative that provides a practical forum for open technologies and low cost scientific tools. http://www.openlabtools.org