At 23.06 1997-02-25 GMT, you wrote:
>WE are comparing the Zeiss 510, the BioRad 1024 and the latest Leica
>models for purchase ASAP.  We are interested in using Imaris (Bitplane)
>software on an SG O2 system.  Anyone have any input that may help in
>our decision??
>

We obtained a BioRad with Imaris software about 6 months ago. It is a fine
instrument, and we are satisfied with its performance. However, there are
some quirks you should know about. I have previously worked with a Leica
(now selling a newer model), and it also had a few quirks, and I do not
think BioRad has more of that than the rest. Here they are:

We obtained a UV laser, so the instrument came with a big UV protecting cage
which is not adequately designed. You need monkey arms to reach the
microscope inside the cage. We have to redesign it, and have problems
obtaining more of the plexiglass it is made from.

Laser illuminated DIC does not work on our Nikon inverted microscope. BioRad
has so far not been able to tell us why. However, we discovered the problem
only recently, so they have not had much time to think about it.
Straightforward tungsten illuminated DIC performs as expected.

Imaris is a good program and very easy to use. However, it runs on Silicon
Graphics machines, which use a Unix type operating system (Irix 6.2). You
should know that such machines currently do not handle MO disk drives
adequately in a multiuser milieu and do not readily read CD disks of the
kind that you make yourself. Also, you should avoid Unix systems if you do
not have a Unix programming engineer at hand. It is certainly a flexible and
fast system, but it is also demanding.

Berndt Ehinger




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Berndt Ehinger
Department of Ophthalmology
Lund University Hospital
S-221 85 Lund, Sweden
Phone +46 46 17 16 90
Fax +46 46 211 50 74
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