Wich brand of microscope to get? Which comes with a better imaging system

[ineses]

I am just starting out and I'd like to obtain a personal microscope for surgical path work. Zeiss, Nikon or Olympus? Which model do you think is the best? Any pearls from your personal experience? What are the things that I should look out for before I commit to a purchase?

I would like the microscope to also be connected to an imaging system so that I can snap some pictures. Should I just get a connector from the rep and get the relevant model of digital camera to attach to the microscope whenever I want to snap a picture or should I get a proper digital imaging system?

Thank you.

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[Parts Unknown]

I use an Olympus and prefer it over the Nikons in the department. My scope is better suited to large individuals, like myself. IMHO Nikon has a tendency to cram the buttons and controls too close to each other, which makes driving a little challenging for me. Someone with more delicate limbs may prefer Nikon.

I haven't used many Zeiss models, but the have a reputation of being the Porsche of scopes. They are finely crafted and expensive, perhaps to the point of being overkill for most users. My PhD advisor had a monstrous Zeiss, which cost >100K, and he used it for all sorts of exotic purposes.

Can't help you on the digital imaging front. Sorry.

 

[TX515]

Zeiss or Leica. Going to cost though.

 

[pathdoc68]

Zeiss and Leica were once truly the finest scopes, both optically and mechanically( Maybe about 20 years ago).

But in recent years Olympus and Nikon have definetely overtaken them in optical, mechanical, electrical and ergonomic quality.

I believe that Leica is now made primarily in China.

Get the best objectives you can afford - Olympus with planApo's

 

[GeoLeoX]

Not that it should matter but they have crappy old Nikons for your board exam. I am an Olympus fanboy, we used them almost exclusively at my residency and I feel very comfortable with them. The BX41 is an awesome scope and the gold standard, IMO. It's gonna cost ya, though - 5-10k

 

[Gyric]

I have used Zeiss, Nikon and Olympus scopes and though I prefer the high end Zeiss optics, they are not that much better than Olympus/Nikon. I like Olympus's camera and software the best and would go with them for a new scope.

 

[Patho2009]

.

 

[Sulfinator]

I have been toying with the idea of getting a Nikon 50i (around $5,000). I was all about it, but I'm now thinking I ought to just wait 'til after I start residency before I decide if it's worth having one at home.

For you current residents out there: Any opinions on whether or not having a scope at home is helpful/useful (or at least fun)?

 

[simplesuture]

sorry if this question is dumb, but what do you guys use your scopes at home for?

 

[Parts Unknown]

For you current residents out there: Any opinions on whether or not having a scope at home is helpful/useful (or at least fun)?

To utilize a scope at home, you would either have to bring cases home, which is dangerously stupid, or bring study sets home, which is unfathomably lame. Leave the scopes at work, where they belong. If you want to look at images off the clock just crack open a book. If you have $5,000 that you want to blow on something truly useful, get a margarita machine.

 

[green mantis]

To utilize a scope at home, you would either have to bring cases home, which is dangerously stupid, or bring study sets home, which is unfathomably lame. Leave the scopes at work, where they belong. If you want to look at images off the clock just crack open a book. If you have $5,000 that you want to blow on something truly useful, get a margarita machine.

I agree. I don't approve of bringing cases home, though I probably would've done so when the need arose. As senior residents at my program, we're required to present at tumor boards (1-3/month). Technically, photographing slides was something that was supposed to occur during off hours (though many of us did this during work hours & no one minded). I think I probably would've taken slides home for this purpose. If you stayed late, there's always that chance you could be roped into doing something else.

For those of you interested in purchasing a microscope, there's no real need to buy a new one. The reps sometimes have demo models they can sell for a discount. Also, some medical supply stores carry used scopes. As long as nothing is broken & everything can be properly calibrated, you're good to go.

Save the $5-10K for something more important such as paying for boards.


----- Antony

 

[Entgegen]

sorry if this question is dumb, but what do you guys use your scopes at home for?

Well, I'm a bit of an amateur astronomer and have a big telescope and all that jazz. On an astronomy forum I frequent, there's a sub-forum dedicated to microscopy and microscopes. A lot of those people play with microscopes as a hobby similar to how they would use a telescope, only just looking at whatever they can fit under the objective lens, and snapping some (occasionally) really cool pictures. No doubt they invest plenty of money into their 'scopes and imaging software. If it's anything like astronomy, you can sink tons of money into the hobby pretty quick.

 

[yaah]

I don't know of many people who have a scope at home. I think at many places taking slides out of the hospital to look at at home is not only ethically questionable but prohibited (because it is patient data, part of the patient's record, etc).

As far as the point about preparing for conference, taking pictures, etc. A microscope camera is not at all cheap. The cheapest ones you can get are several hundred dollars.

If you have $5,000 that you want to blow on something truly useful, get a margarita machine.

 

[TX515]

I don't know of many people who have a scope at home. I think at many places taking slides out of the hospital to look at at home is not only ethically questionable but prohibited (because it is patient data, part of the patient's record, etc).

Do you still feel that way with electronic images?

 

[yaah]

Do you still feel that way with electronic images?

I don't quite understand the question. Electronic images are either photomicrographs taken of a slide or are scanned in slides that are viewed at home with a program. The former is not a problem because it's just a photo, the latter is not because it's usually accessed off of a secure server. And in either case, the permanent record (i.e. the slide) is not leaving the hospital. It's kind of like accessing electronic medical records remotely, which is done all the time. So what is the question?

 

[Gene_]

Do you still feel that way with electronic images?

If you are going to put pictures on a personal flash drive or some other media you will be taking out of the hospital, don't attach personally identifiable data to the pictures.

We had a resident taking slides home years ago. That was only topped by the fact the said resident also took a microscope home

 

[yaah]

Yeah, my program disciplined a resident for doing that a year or two before I started.

 

[TX515]

I don't quite understand the question. Electronic images are either photomicrographs taken of a slide or are scanned in slides that are viewed at home with a program. The former is not a problem because it's just a photo, the latter is not because it's usually accessed off of a secure server. And in either case, the permanent record (i.e. the slide) is not leaving the hospital. It's kind of like accessing electronic medical records remotely, which is done all the time. So what is the question?

Because you mentioned taking patient info home is questionable. Just wondering. I imagine pretty much all of pt info in medicine will soon go digital. I don't know if it is common practice now to digitize slides instead of keeping them around? I know I've seen stockpiles around and wondered if they could be put in digital format 1080p.

 

[yaah]

Taking patient info home is questionable, but taking the permanent patient record (i.e. slides, medical records chart, etc) is even more questionable. I suspect many physicians take home printouts of certain things from the EMR. That isn't really a problem provided they are disposed of properly.

 

[drdvs]

I can see the problem with the permanent record leaving the hospital in theory, but it happens every day in pathology with consults and re-reviews. Granted some places only send out recuts, but that's by no mean the majority in my experience. Rather tons of cases, and sometimes a patient's entire surg path history (e.g. years worth of glass records!) are sent off site for microscopic exam either for primary diagnosis, consultation, pre-treatment re-review, etc. One could argue that bringing cases home to review would amount to nearly as much....
Also, I know community and academic pathologists alike who routinely have slides sent to them when they are gone for long periods.

 

[drdvs]

It may not be a good thing, but it happens.