The HIROX Hiscope is a dedicated digital
microscope, that is, there is no provision to observe the sample directly
through the lens except with a digital camera. Once that design decision
had been made the system was optimized for the characteristics of the
imaging sensor - a flat, 2-D array with a known readout rate, response
curve, pixel size, etc. In a conventional microscope the optics of the eye
have to be figured into the design parameters and that requirement may be
different from and potentially conflict with those that would produce
optimal images with an electronic imaging sensor. Because the HiScope has
been designed only for digital imaging no compromises have had to be made
to accommodate the eye's optics. However, the system is, in fact, often
able to take advantage of sight physiology and visual signal processing to
provide unique observational capabilities, i.e. 3-D Rotational Microscopy.
