title: A simple device for the computer quantification of depth measurements in thick light microscope sections.
abstract: The use of computerized techniques to characterize quantitatively the anatomy of individual neurons has been increasing. One difficulty has been the quantification of the z-axis or depth measurements within thick light microscopic sections. In the present report we describe a simple device which employs an incremental optical encoder to transduce the movements of the focusing knob of the microscope so that depth information can be recorded directly by a computer. A resolution of 0.13 micron over a range of approximately 8.5 cm is achieved. The mechanical interface to the microscope is simple and applicable to a wide variety of microscopes. Interfacing circuits which allow the optical encoder to be used with an IBM-PC compatible computer are presented and described. The accuracy of the depth measurements is limited only by the mechanical tolerances of the focusing mechanism and by the optics of the microscope.
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Gdowski
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Eldred
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Voigt
mesh_terms: D004559:Electric Wiring; D004867:Equipment Design; D006652:Histological Techniques; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards