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What is the technology behind the e-Scope? There are two fundamental parts to the production of the final e-Scope image on the web page.
Acquisition of the large area, high resolution image The final image of approximately 20,000 x 20,000 pixels is a result of stitching an 8x11 grid of photomicrographs, each 3456x2304 pixels (with approximately a 10% overlap between adjacent micrographs). The stitching is undertaken using ICE (Microsoft's Image Composite Editor)(fig 1) - note this is excellent for stitching but does have a bug that sometimes introduces a colour caste on the final image, unfortunately there is no longer any official Microsoft development or support. It can still be downloaded from CNet via link above. The individual micrographs are taken on a Zeiss Photomic II with a 16x objective and 1.25x optivar. The microscope is fitted with an in-house designed motorised stage incorporating two stepper motors and control board from PC Control Ltd (unfortunately the website of this firm seems to be unavailable) to allow automated acquisition of the 8x11 grid of images (fig2). The camera is a Canon 500D (with 2x auxiliary lens) controlled via Canon remote control software (fig3). Control of the overall process, automating both X and Y movement and camera shutter release is achieved via a Windows application developed in-house(fig 4). This software incorporates a kernel of basic functions provided by both PC Control Ltd and Canon. |
Display of the 'zoomable' image to mimic a microscope At the heart of the 'e-Scope' is a kernel of software routines written in Javascript by 'Zoomify©' Ltd (unfortunately this firm also seems to have ceased trading) ('Zoomable' does something similar but with less features). These routines allow the physical display of a mega- or giga- pixel image in a seamless zoomable form, even over a relatively slow internet connection. The display of the e-Scope and interaction with the user is achieved by integration in over-arching Javascript code.
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| e-Scope v1.15 ©Roger Shore 2018 |