Types of Clinical Microscopes and Their Uses

Clinical microscopes are used in a wide variety of applications in the field of medicine, medical research, medical practice and pharmacology. They are indispensable tools for performing microscopic examination, observation and diagnosis of specimens, especially of organic materials. That is why they are designed and built to be as reliable and accurate as possible.

Types of clinical microscopy
There are several types of optical microscopy used in clinical research and study. Each one has its own set of advantages and limitations and depending on the requirement of the viewer, a different clinical microscope might be used for a particular need. Some types of clinical microscopy include:

Bright field microscopy
This is the most commonly used clinical microscope; it is also one of the simplest. It uses light to focus on the sample specimen. The specimen then reflects the light that is captured by the objective and passed through the eyepiece. Because a specimen has to absorb the light before bouncing it back, biological and organic specimens are often stained, which allows them to soak in light. This produces a sharper, clearer image.

In clinical microscopy, a bright field microscope is used when samples don’t have to be kept live for observation. Staining the specimen will usually kill the organism or cells. In bright field microscopy, the specimen and the background will appear illuminated.

Dark field microscopy
A dark field microscope uses a concentrated cone of light on the sample specimen. Because the field of view of its objective lens is located in the dark part of the cone, it is only capable of picking up scattered light that the object reflects. This allows the viewer to see a bright image with a dark background. The clear areas in the specimen itself will appear dark.

In clinical microscopy, the dark field microscope is extremely useful in viewing live specimen and unstained organic or biological material. Dark field clinical microscopes are used when viewing a live object in its natural condition is required.

Reflected light fluorescence microscopy
This type of clinical microscopy is one of the best tools used in medical and biological research. This is the type of microscope that allowed scientists to view and identify cells and other cellular entities. It capitalizes on many organisms’ ability to produce light on their own. This is a phenomenon that is manipulated by using incident light with a short wavelength to excite the materials. An additional source of light is part of the microscopy setup. The source is usually a mercury lamp, which is capable of emitting strong light within the UV range.

Phase contrast
Phase contrast clinical microscopes are used for specimens that have minimum contrast when viewed under bright field microscopes. It is one of the most widely used clinical microscopes because it allows live observation of organic matter such as microorganisms, living cells and tissues. These materials often appear transparent when used with bright field illumination, so the contrast between the components such as cellular structures and granules are not visible.

With a clinical microscope using phase contrast microscopy, cellular contrast can be observed without the need to use staining agents on the specimen. This allows scientists to view live cells and organisms.

Advantages of clinical microscopy
Because of their contribution to health and medical research, clinical microscopes are designed to be versatile, advanced, ergonomically sound and cost efficient. Compared to more conventional microscopes, there are certain areas where clinical microscopes are more superior. These areas include:

Imaging
Clinical microscopes are relied upon for accurate imaging, that is why their optical lenses are designed to enhance the clarity and accuracy of the image. Most of the recent clinical microscopes available today have objectives that are infinity corrected, so distortions are reduced to a minimum.

Magnification
Most clinical microscopes, while easily controlled, are usually automatically set to provide optimal view of the specimen. Each time the objective magnification is moved, the automatic focus feature immediately corrects any deviation among the objective lens. The result is an image that is optimized without the need for further manipulation of the microscope’s focus adjustments.

Focus After magnification power, focus is an essential component of clinical microscopes. With finely tuned focus controls, the magnification can be manipulated to produce an image in very high resolution.

Supplemental components Today’s clinical microscopes are often supplemented by computers and digital cameras, allowing for a more comfortable and efficient way of viewing the specimen. With these tools, images can also be captured and stored in an efficient manner, allowing researchers and scientists to view them at a later time for diagnosis or comparison. Time-lapse photography or recording can also be performed, allowing changes in the specimen to be observed over a certain period of time.

The clinical microscope is probably one of the few types of microscopy that continues to evolve in leaps and bounds, particularly because they are in demand in the medical field. At the rate it is being designed and manufactured today, we should expect more and more improvements in its functionality in the future.