MC1 Microcirculation Microscope

The MC1 is a low power microscope designed for the specific purpose of examining the small capillary blood vessels in the nail bed of the finger. This is a relatively new technique designed to study the effectiveness of the peripheral circulation and appears to have applications in chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Oil such as peanut or microscopy immersion oil is applied to the skin at the base of the nail bed, this makes the peripheral capillaries of the skin visible under direct illumination and the shape and course of the vessels can be studied.

The MC1 has been developed for this examination, and has a built in analogue CCTV camera to allow direction vision with an analogue monitor or a conventional television. The image can be displayed on PC or laptop with the aide of either an internal PCI card (for PC), or a signal converter such a WinTV (laptop) or Canopus for Apple.

The MC1 stand has coaxial coarse and fine focus controls and  a mechanical stage with coaxial adjustment to allow accurate movement and adjustment. In the centre of the stage is a finger ‘groove’ to hold the finger steady this will rotate through 360° for the optimum position, and the mechanical stage controls allows fine movement to study particular areas. The stage movement range is 25 x 70 mm.

The optical specification includes a x4 achromatic objective with a working distance of 37.4mm, which together with the CCTV unit provides an effective x50 overall magnification (without taking into account any amplification produced by the display monitor).

The MC1 has a rheostat controlled incident light source which is non-infrared and low temperature and therefore  ideally suited for the application. The angle of illumination is fully adjustable. An AC/CD 9v 500mA transformer plug is supplied .

Integral to the unit head is a colour CMOS CCTV camera with the following technical specification:

                          ■ Sensor: 1/3″ 628(H) x 582(V) PAL

                          ■ Resolution: 420 TV lines

                          ■ Output:: 1 VP-P 75Ω

                          ■ Minimum 3 Lux, auto white balance

There is a phono AVI output at the base of the microscope and the appropriate CCTV cable is supplied.

Price:   MC1  £191.49

            WinTV signal adapter for PC and laptop £55.32

            Canopus signal adapter for Apple MAC £127.66

            Eurosys internal PCI card for PC only £176.17

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