Tofra has released a computer-controlled RGB (red, green, blue) LED Illuminator for transmitted light illumination in upright microscopes
The unit provides bright, uniform and diffuse light and is controlled by computer.
Red, green and blue colours can be switched on and off in less than 1ms individually or in any combination, including all three giving white light.
The unit mounts instead of microscope substage condenser and eliminates the need for standard light source, condenser and filter changer.
The illuminator makes possible acquisition of colour images from monochrome camera with full non-interpolated colour at every pixel.
The image quality can be further improved by adjusting focus position individually for each color.
This feature and the monochromatic nature of the LED light minimise the effect of optical aberrations in microscope objectives.
The unit has no moving or serviceable parts, creates no vibration, noise or heat and does not add any components in the imaging path of the microscope.
The illuminator can be controlled by sending simple command strings to the serial port or by using the provided software.
