Virtual reality images created on the back and front of a display.

Abstract

To better investigate the biological mechanism of microorganisms, we developed a novel, to the best of our knowledge, virtual reality (VR) microscope that incorporates a head-mounted display (HMD) that creates VR images with a digital microscope. This type of VR microscope can be used with any type of optical microscope. The fabricated microscope is quite different from a common bifocal device because it can create VR images on the back and front of a display. If the VR images are displayed with object (OBJ) images, they are observable in [2 × 2] (back and front VR images and OBJ images; 2 × 2 = 4 images). This feature can provide important information on microscopic OBJs, which can be employed in 3D biological analysis. Furthermore, if a laser light source is added to this microscope, the images can be observed in [3 × 2] (back and front laser VR images, VR images, and OBJ images; 3 × 2 = 6 images). The lasers would also enable optical trapping and tracking, leading to improved biological analysis.