Getting up close with SATRA’s new digital microscope

Over recent years, SATRA has been developing its imaging facilities to include camera-equipped binocular microscopes and high-magnification microscopes, X-Ray imaging equipment and a non-contact digitiser with a 20-micron accuracy. This impressive array of research equipment has now been bolstered by investment in a digital microscopy unit.

Offering a live view at 1080p resolution, the new equipment allows SATRA to produce technical reports full of high-quality annotated images, taken at magnifications up to 700x. Software enables side-by-side comparison of ‘before’ and ‘after’ samples, or the comparison of submitted samples against a stored reference image. Automatic image stacking overcomes some of the limitations normally imposed by a microscope’s limited depth of field, by joining multiple images together into a detailed and visually striking composite image.

Under the SATRA digital imaging unit, the simple knit illustrated above is seen to only transport moisture in one direction, whereas other adjacent fibres – even those touching the moist fibres – remain completely dry. This fact was demonstrated by the use of an ultraviolet (UV) marker in water, with the knit viewed beneath UV illumination.

The photograph at the top of this page shows how wicking within an example of a simple knit takes place – indicated here by the blue dye picked out under UV lighting as seen with SATRA's new equipment.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 4 of the November 2019 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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