Features of a Quality Clinical Microscope
Choosing a reliable and effective clinical microscope is not an easy task. Since clinical microscopes are essential tools in analyzing the body’s internal environment through various body fluid examinations, urinalysis, and fecalysis, it is important to know the features of a quality clinical microscope.
An Overview
An ailment or a disease is a dynamic, ever-changing expression of the balance between cell damage or abnormal cell activity and the body defense mechanisms or compensations. It becomes serious when a major organ of homeostasis is extensively damaged or when it is functioning abnormally. Once the internal environment is substantially altered, then all cells are damaged or will die. And to detect such changes before damage or death occurs; clinical microscopy is utilized and applied.
Since the turn of the century, the mortality rate throughout the world has declined steadily and the average life span has increased, largely due to the successful control of many infectious diseases. Improvements in nutrition likewise have contributed significantly to the well-being of populations everywhere.
However, new problems arise constantly. With the lifestyle most people have nowadays, changes take place in the internal environment which leads to diseases.
As the average life span has increased, there has been a corresponding increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases. Cardiovascular disease and cancer are now responsible for over 70% of the deaths in the United States. More than 20% of this country’s population is afflicted with chronic disease of one type or another.
Clinical Microscope Application
Public health problems confront the society as a result of rapid industrial expansion and the development of large and overcrowded urban centers. During the past several decades, medical research has advanced our knowledge at a fantastic pace. Among the most brilliant accomplishments is the application of clinical microscopy.
Clinical microscopy has long been known as the most important tool in clinical laboratory. It is used in analyzing and examining body fluids, urine, stools, etc. With this, it is important to use quality clinical microscope to obtain reliable and accurate results.
Physicians use clinical results as their reference or tool to come up with an accurate diagnosis of the patient’s condition.
Generally, clinical microscopes are classified as compound microscopes. And like any compound microscope, this device is composed eyepieces, objectives, light source, stage, and focusing mechanisms. It can either be binocular (with two eyepieces) or trinocular (with three eyepieces).
Binocular clinical microscopes will do especially if you only need such type for observation and analysis. But if you need to document your observation or if you need to present your analysis to a large group of people simultaneously, you may need to use trinocular clinical microscope. This classification of clinical microscope has a port for digital technology. This means that you can change the eyepiece and use video or digital camera adapter for digital photography or video.
One of the greatest features of a quality clinical microscope is that it has higher grade capabilities. For example, quality clinical microscopes have “higher grade objectives.” This means that they can produce magnifications as high as 1000x by means of “100x oil immersion objective lens.”
Next, quality clinical microscopes also have higher quality of illumination. Normally, most modern microscopes employ the theory of Koehler illumination. With this type of illumination system, you can expect vivid, constant illumination all through the viewfield. Experts say that this is, in fact, the technique of choice in all contemporary microscopy.
Quality clinical microscopes also have ergonomic design. This feature enables the user to control the position of the microscope without strain or difficulty. With the ergonomic design, you can be sure of a more relaxed observation while analyzing or viewing specimens in the clinical laboratory.
Ergonomic features consist of adjustable knobs for the height. This feature allows the user to control the height and place their hands in the table with comfort. Moreover, the stage can also be changed and adjusted according to the comfortable level of the user. In this way, the shoulders remain in symmetrical position, eliminating strain.
And with technologically advanced optics, quality clinical microscopes can yield quality images without difficulty. Features of clinical microscopes are coordinated so that sheer, well-defined images are generated without having to adjust light source.
Moreover, pre-configured illumination system in a clinical microscope will let you establish quality images without adjusting or changing the condenser.
Not all clinical microscopes were created equal. Even if they have the common features of clinical microscopes, some may have better attributes than the other. Hence, knowing the features of a quality clinical microscope can be very helpful.
