Our darkfield microscopes are built specifically for darkfield analysis of live blood samples. Other darkfield microscopes do not have the necessary set of features for proper darkfield analysis of live blood. They may be suitable for viewing other samples in darkfield, but when it comes to analysing live blood in darkfield a very specific set of features are needed in a darkfield microscope.
To allow the practitioner to see and detect all the live blood anomalies in darkfield, a microscope needs to have the following specifications:
1. Light source:
50W halogen (minimum) or 9W LED. Our LED microscopes have a 9W LED light source, which is equivalent to 100W halogen – ideal for darkfield live blood analysis. The strong light source creates sufficient brightness to allow the faint anomalies between the cells to show up clearly against a black background.
Darkfield microscope light comparison
2. Magnification range:
Most anomalies in live blood require a minimum magnification of 1000X to be identified. Standard microscopes provide the same magnification level on the viewing screen as through the eyepieces. This means that a magnification of 400X will be achieved on the viewing screen when the 40X objective is used, and to achieve a suitable level of magnification the 100X objective would need to be used. Standard microscopes feature standard 100X objectives that do not have a built-in iris diaphragm, which allows through too much light and makes it nearly impossible to see anything clearly in darkfield. This means that users inevitably end up using the 40X objective exclusively, and as a result, struggle to identify anomalies properly at 400X.
Our microscopes feature a wide magnification range, with additional magnification to the viewing screen. This allows the user to achieve a magnification of 1600X on the viewing screen with the 40X objective, and an industry-leading 4000X magnification on the viewing screen with the 100X objective.
Darkfield microscope magnification comparison Darkfield microscope magnification comparison