Low-Cost LED Based Epi-Fluorescence Microscopy
Episcopic(EPI) or reflective/incident illumination is commonly used in biological microscopy to excite fluorescence. However, most less-expensive biology microscopes such as those used in education and clinic applications are not equipped with epi-fluorescence illuminators. Even in more sophisticated biology microscopes EPI illuminators are only an expensive option. To make epi-fluorescence illumination available on more microscopes, an inexpensive illuminator that can fit on virtually any microscopes without alteration is called for.
Through-eyetube(TET) EPI illuminators are a unique class of microscope illumination solutions developed and patented by Mightex Systems. A TET-EPI illuminator sends light through one of the eyetubes of a typical binocular head. Light passes through microscope objective and illuminates the sample under observation, same as in a conventional EPI illumination setup. The TET-EPI illuminator fits into an eye tube just like a regular eyepiece. Image can be observed through the other eyepiece or the phototube. Alternatively, TE-EPI illuminator can be inserted into the phototube. In this configuration, images maybe observed through both eyepieces if the microscope is equipped with a beamsplitter between the phototube and the eyetubes.