A professional microscope in your pocket

Conventional microscopes work best on a lab bench, but are too big, sensitive and unstable for field use and they need power, a camera and a computer to capture images. They are also expensive. Field microscopes compromise on image quality and are fiddly to use.

The ioLight microscope fits in a jacket pocket, is simple to use and robust. It unfolds quickly to record and share 5MP still images and real time HD video at a magnification of x200 on an iPad Air. The resolution is one micron, that’s 1/1,000mm - powerful enough to see the structure of plant and animal cells. The product uses standard microscope slides and features adjustable top and bottom illumination for use on both biological and opaque samples. It is particularly good for live samples, which deteriorate on the journey back to the lab, and it works anywhere, even without a WiFi or mobile phone network.

Founders Richard Williams and Andrew Monk have used their experience of optical engineering to reconfigure low cost mobile phone parts into a compact and flexible device and file worldwide patent applications.

Monk commented: “It takes just a couple of minutes to get a great image on the microscope, anywhere from a river bank to a factory floor. This makes microscopy simpler for everyone, from experienced professionals to student scientists and drives public engagement with science.”

This simplicity of use in the field and classroom makes the ioLight microscope well suited for a wide range of applications such as field science, education and outreach, animal medicine, micro-engineering, site surveys, customer support and any other application where portability and ease of use must not compromise image quality.