Question

Can I scan insects with the uScopeMXII?

Answer

Yes. Almost certainly. However, there are some caveats with insects and whole slide imaging.

• Insect sections are usually very thick. This can cause some parts of each field to be out of focus due to thickness variations in the insect section.
• Focus position differences between proximate fields can cause poor stitching of adjacent field.
• Good scan results are obtained using the Initial Only focus method and manual selection of the focus point. The Fast Stack focus method may yield good results, too.

The following deep zoom images show the image quality of entomology scans made by the uScopeHXII whole slide scanner.

Thick sections are best scanned with an objective that has a very wide depth of field—like that of the 10x objective found in the uScopeHXII-10. Good results can also be had with a 20x objective.

The depth-of-field of 40x and 60x objectives is too narrow to provide adequate results. uScope models with these objectives should be avoided when scanning insects.