Seeing Double Through Your Microscope? A Head Alignment is the Fix!

Read the Edited Video Transcript for ‘Seeing Double Through Your Microscope? A Head Alignment is the Fix!’

Hi, this is Chad with Munday Scientific. We just had a call from a biomedical engineer a few minutes ago. They said someone in the lab was complaining about double vision while using a microscope.

Sometimes when you look through a microscope head like this—or really any binocular microscope—you might feel like you’re sick or dizzy. The first thing that comes to mind when that happens is misalignment. Typically, the issue isn’t with the lower part of the microscope; it’s in the viewing head.

Whether it’s a fixed head, a tilting head like this one, or a trinocular head, the problem usually lies right here. I’ll turn it to the side so you can see. Michael will come in for a close-up.

This part of the head sticks out from the microscope. In lab environments, it’s common for someone to stand up, spin their chair around, and accidentally bump the head. When that happens, it can knock the internal components out of alignment.

Inside here is a shaft that holds the prisms. We have another head we use to show the internal layout—these prisms on either side are secured by a thin shaft. That shaft is made of lightweight metal or aluminum to keep the head compact, ergonomic, and sleek. But if the head takes a hit—falls, gets bumped hard, or is otherwise impacted—that shaft can develop a hairline crack.

When that happens, the prisms become misaligned, and you end up seeing two different images, one through each eye. That kind of double vision can make you feel sick or make it impossible to focus.

More on ”Seeing Double Through Your Microscope? A Head Alignment is the Fix!’

So we want to talk about how we handle that issue.

If you’re local, we can often come on-site to perform the repair. But to do it correctly, we need special tools: an alignment objective, alignment eyepiece, and an alignment slide to ensure everything is calibrated properly. We’ll remove the old prisms, replace the damaged shaft, relubricate it, and realign everything. It’s a process.

However, what we prefer—and what’s faster for most people—is our Microscope Head Exchange Program. We keep a wide selection of pre-aligned, refurbished microscope heads in stock. Whether it’s an Olympus or Nikon head—we’re authorized service providers for both—we can ship you a ready-to-use replacement.

Here’s How Our Microscope Head Exchange Program Works

You give us a call and let us know you’re having an alignment issue. We’ll ask for a photo of the microscope and the head that’s causing the problem. Then we’ll find the exact same model in our inventory, in matching condition, and ship it to you with a prepaid return label.

Once it arrives, you just swap out the head, install the new one on your microscope, and you’re back up and running. Then pack the broken head in the original packaging, slap on the return label, and send it back to us. That’s it—problem solved with minimal downtime.

We do this most commonly with Olympus and Nikon microscopes because they’re by far the most widely used scopes in clinical settings. Hospitals all over the world rely on them—and they’re our favorites as well. (Olympus is now branded as Evident.)

This program helps minimize downtime, gets the lab staff back to work quickly, and gives the biomed team a quick and easy solution to keep users happy and productive.

So if you’re dealing with double vision, a misaligned microscope head, or need to replace a damaged one, give us a call at 919-775-5596 or email us at .

If you need to purchase a replacement head or any related products, you can visit our e-commerce site at microscopemarketplace.com.

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