[wplug] OT: was FreeDOS, now digitizers

[Michael Semcheski]

Chris Ott wrote:
>> Anyone know of any good microscope-plotting systems, precise to the
>> micron?  Must run on newer hardware :)

> You'll get 27,200 hits, many of which are selling microscopes that work
> with Windows XP (blecch) and have USB connections. They range in price
> from $500 to $3000. Most of them include image processing software and I
> noticed one or two that will process moving images.

What we are looking to replace, actually, is the MD2 system from
Minnesota Datametrics.  Its a bit different than a microscope with a
digital camera.

The following is not meant to be 'I'm right, you're wrong', but just for
the interested reader.

The stage of the microscope is attached to a mechanical device which
precisely measures its position.  Crosshairs are shown in the
microscope.  When the scientist presses a button, the position of the
stage (relative to the crosshairs) is fed into the computer as x and y
coordinates.

If you do a google search for 'minnesota datametrics md2 system', the
results are all published neuroscience and psychiatry papers.  Minnesota
Datametrics has since changed their name (and their product line).

The reason for this is used is that the field of the microscope is much
smaller than the actual slide.  If you were to take a picture of the
slide with a digital camera attached to the microscope, you'd get a
fraction of the slide.  To digitize the whole slide, you'd need to take
hundreds of pictures, then align them all.  Sort of like putting a
jigsaw puzzle together.  It would also leave you with lots of
information you don't need -- we don't need high detail photos, we just
want to have precise knowledge of where certain indicators appear.

Mike