Abstract
Tungsten and halogen lamps are normally used for microscope illumination. However, if there is an electrical fault in any of these lamps, extra money to purchase a new one and the sacrifice of a long time for its arrival may be required to get the lamp replaced, especially in some developing countries. The aim of this study therefore is to develop a cheap and easily obtainable light source, built with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to replace a faulty tungsten or halogen lamp. The LEDs are cheap to buy, easily available and operate at a much lower voltage. A light source, using LEDs, was designed and constructed to fit easily into the space previously occupied by the tungsten or halogen lamp. An integrated switching low power DC-DC converter, having a microcontroller unit at its heart and powered from a 5 Volt source, was also constructed to control the LED light source. It was observed that the contrast of the sample image obtained with the halogen lamp was reproduced by the LED light source. In this study, a replacement LED based light source for illuminating optical microscopes was constructed, and it gave a reasonable result compared to that obtained by using the halogen lamp. This work will be very useful in those places where it may be very difficult to get a quick replacement halogen or tungsten lamp or where electric power is not always available.
Highlights
A laboratory optical microscope is a very useful tool for examining the structure of tissues, cells and microbes [1]
To compare the performance of the Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) light source with that of the halogen lamp, a slide of the Leishman stain of blood sample was captured with a generic USB microscope camera, first with the optical microscope having a halogen lamp as the light source and with the microscope having the LED as the light source
It was observed that the contrast of the sample image achieved with the halogen lamp was reproduced by the LED light source
Summary
A laboratory optical microscope is a very useful tool for examining the structure of tissues, cells and microbes [1]. A good uniform and bright white light similar to sunlight is an essential part of optical microscopy [2], but requires electricity from the national grid or the local portable generator to generate it, making its use for a long time to be expensive. If there is an electrical fault in the lamp, an extra money and a long time may be needed or sacrificed to get the lamp replaced. Under this condition, a cheap and constructible LED based light source can be a quick replacement, instead of looking for an extra money to purchase a new replacement tungsten or halogen lamp and sacrificing a long time for its arrival. It is necessary to look for an alternative illumination source that can be a quick replacement and which can be operated cheaply in the local area
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