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Choosing accessible microscopes for low vision

Several options for choosing accessible microscopes for low vision users in science labs.

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When I think back to my high school biology class and using a microscope with low vision, I remember my lab partner (and best friend to this day) would provide detailed verbal descriptions of what different slides looked like and attempt to draw some of them with high contrast markers, since I couldn’t see any of the slides. Accessible microscopes weren’t something my teacher or support team had really considered, so it wasn’t until college that I used a microscope with low vision for the first time and learned about the variety of microscope options for visually impaired users. Here is a list of tips for choosing accessible microscopes for low vision and making microscopy accessible for visually impaired students who access information visually.

What microscopes are available?

Before the first day of class, the student and/or members of their education team should ask what types of microscopes are used in the classroom, as well as the name of the model used. This can be helpful for researching existing accessibility features such as compatibility with external displays, keyboard shortcuts for controlling software and other potential connectivity options. Some colleges will publicize which microscopes are available within different departments or campuses, or the professor may list this in the syllabus. Asking about this information in advance can give the student and/or support team adequate time to identify an alternative solution.

Connect microscope to external screen

Video microscopes have a built-in screen and/or option for connecting to an external screen to view specimens, and often provide options for saving images in high resolution. These are an ideal option for students with low vision who can view microscopes on a larger screen or at a more natural viewing angle, as the screens are easier to access compared to the narrow eye piece on a traditional microscope. One of my friends mentioned they had used the PentaView LCD Digital Microscope for their classes, and would use the built-in screen when working independently. If they were sharing a microscope with another person, they would mirror the display to a TV, so they didn’t have to hunch over to see the screen.

For higher-level classes, the same friend mentioned how important it was to have a dissecting microscope with a larger screen. While all students in the class had access to a microscope with a 10-inch screen, my friend requested a larger screen (22-inch) that was easier for them to access and connected to the microscope via USB or HDMI cables.

Desktop video magnifier

While a desktop video magnifier or CCTV may not provide powerful enough magnification for examining cells, it is a fantastic tool for exploring other specimens or items in detail. I used my HIMS E-Bot Pro in my college geology class to examine samples and apply display filters to graphics to increase the contrast and make the images easier to see. I paired it with an XY table that could be repositioned and placed dark cardstock behind light-colored items to make them easier to focus on.

While the E-Bot Pro is no longer sold, similar desktop video magnifiers can be used to enlarge items and explore visual details. Many models also offer an option for connecting to a larger external display as well.

Foldscope paper microscope

Foldscope is a low-cost paper microscope that features a small lens with three magnification options, including 50x, 140x and 340x. Foldscope microscopes can be used with or without a smartphone camera to provide magnification to different types of specimens, and can be used with brightfield, darkfield and fluorescence modes to explore different types of specimens. Foldscope’s YouTube channel also offers several tutorials for using it in different contexts.

My brother gifted me a Foldscope paper microscope that he got at a science event, as he thought it would be helpful to pair with my smartphone for increased magnification. This definitely would have been helpful for my high school science classes or for outdoor activities, as it is easier for me to position and adjust images compared to a traditional microscope, and I can also position content within my field of vision. Alternatively, I could save images to my camera roll, or mirror my phone display with Chromecast.

DIY smartphone microscope stand

Kenji Yoshino created a DIY microscope stand that can provide up to 375x magnification when paired with a smartphone camera, which can be used in a lab setting or for less structured science activities. The microscope stand itself costs about $10 USD to make, can be constructed in less than an hour, and does not require any specialty smartphone applications or internet access for viewing images. One of my science professors used this stand (or something very similar) to take pictures of specimens in high resolution and share them in a folder on the class website so students could compare different sets of images.

Provide high resolution images of samples

When examining images of samples, I often will use my iPad to explore the image using pinch-to-zoom, apply display filters or adjust the display angle so it is positioned under the bifocal in my glasses. This process is a lot easier when my professors provide high resolution images of samples and captions/image descriptions that give me an idea of what I am looking at, or that share what makes an image interesting or unique. This is also useful for images that have text labels that would be otherwise difficult or impossible to read, as I can either zoom in on the text or extract it using a tool like Seeing AI or Google Lens to have the text enlarged/read out loud.

Since saving an image to my device often means losing access to alt text, I prefer to have image descriptions in a document or on the course website that provide visual details about an image.

Adjust colors of microscope images for colorblindness

Conveying information through color alone can be challenging for students with colorblindness or other types of color deficiencies. Several microscopy image processing programs provide the option to customize 2-channel, 3-channel and 4-channel microscope images to be suitable for colorblindness, such as FIJI/ImageJ and Photoshop, or using image conversion tools. This can include the following color adjustments:

For students with low vision, contrast can also play a strong role in accessing color, and using a color contrast checker like WAVE can help assess if an image possesses adequate contrast.

More resources on accessible microscopes for low vision

By Veronica Lewis/Veronica With Four Eyes, www.veroniiiica.com

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