Microscopy and Imaging Solutions from Micron Optical

Interview conducted by Alexander ChiltonApr 24 2015

Colin Darby, CEO at Micron Optical, talks to AZoM about Micron Optical's microscopes and imaging solutions.

Could you provide our readers with a brief overview of the history of Micron Optical and explain how the company has grown since it was established in 1966.

The company was established by my parents, Elizabeth & Norman Darby back in 1966 to establish customers with a single resource point for customers interested in microscopes for medical, industrial and research purposes.

Over the decades we have introduced new technologies, standardized ergonomics and help increase the quality of work being done on microscopes. While always representing a major brand within Ireland, we wanted to venture into new waters and the export market and decided to introduce our own brand of quality microscopes.

These microscopes have the same quality optics and feature of other leading brands, but at a more affordable price point. We are now exporting these microscopes into European countries with much success as news of their benefits travel.

Micron Optical will be celebrating its 50th birthday next year. Do you have any special celebrations planned to mark this milestone in the company’s history?

Yes, we are delighted to still be in business nearly 50 years, despite the recent recession! We have a few things planned for next year for our company to celebrate, and also some great promotions for our customers to join in with us in celebration too.

Which industries in particular does Micron Optical produce and supply microscopes to?

We produce and supply microscopes into a variety of industries, from large Pharma-drug companies, to individual producers of products and services. We supply all the major industrial companies.

Hospital and research institutes also make up a large part of our business, and within Ireland we have had a dramatic impact on increasing the quality of diagnosis within our hospitals over the decades.

Micron Optical offers the ‘Micron BM3’ laboratory and research-grade microscope for biological or industrial use. What are the main features of this microscope?

The Micron BM3 is a wonderful laboratory grade microscope. It is the only microscope to offer a Sapphire crystal stage, for ultra-hard wear. We have included 25mm FOV eyepieces as standard along with LED illumination so you don’t have to replace the light source for years, instead of months with a normal Halogen light system.

Our 60mm objective system gives a longer working distance with higher quality images compared to many alternatives and our new Apo range of objectives are just stunning! We offer a wide variety of teaching systems for the microscope also and supply a trinocular tilting ergo head as standard.

What are the main advantages of choosing the ‘Micron BM3’ over other microscopes in its class?

The high quality image and superior functions on our microscope, coupled with the lower price point compared to other manufacturers, gives us a competitive advantage to other manufacturers. Once you see our microscope in action, you will appreciate just how great this microscope is.

You recently launched the ‘Micron HD’. What are the key features of this HD camera?

We boldly claim that it is the best HD camera for microscope use in the world – we believe so! It is now in its second generation and has gone from strength to strength. It has an amazing 60fps via HDMI to a monitor so very fast refresh rate for live discussions but it still allows you to capture either still photos or video onto an on-board SD card for later use. This can be used without a PC which is invaluable to hospital use, where they may not have a PC beside the unit.

All of the controls are easily accessible through the use of a USB mouse on the screen. We can also connect the camera via USB 2.0 to a PC with our imaging software, Micron Capture, and still achieve 30 fps which is amazing in a camera at this price.

Could you please outline the main advantages of using the ‘Micron HD’ camera to our readers?

For clinical use in hospitals it is far superior using this camera setup to using overhead projectors as they cannot reproduce the correct color range that our HD camera connected to a HD monitor can. Super-fast refresh rates and the ability to capture images on the fly are a great addition.

Does Micron Optical offer any after-sales support to its customers?

At Micron Optical we pride ourselves on our customer support. We want our customers to get the best out of their microscopes and cameras so everything we sell is clearly demonstrated to them so they get the best training.

We want to grow with our customers through the years, so we keep in contact with them letting them know of updates to their systems when they appear.

We also offer after sales servicing on all of our products to keep them in the best working order for the years to come.

Where can our readers find out more information about Micron Optical’s microscopes and the company more generally?

They can log onto our website at: https://micronoptical.com/, or contact us on [email protected] or alternatively we would be delighted to hear from them if they would like to call us on +353 53 9231111.

We love to help people with their microscope queries as it is what we do best and have being doing now for nearly 50 years as Europe’s premier microscope specialists.