An automatic sampling stage microscope for stereology

SUMMARY A new instrument is described which permits automatic sampling of microscopic fields on sections. For this purpose a motor‐driven high‐precision specimen stage was fitted to a microscope. The motors are controlled by an electronic unit to permit the following modes of operation: (a) continuous operation by a four‐position joy‐stick switch for easy and rapid scanning of the preparation; (b) single‐step operation, where the specimen is displaced in either the x ‐ or the y ‐direction by a preselected distance adjustable between 15 μm and 20 mm; (c) automatically repeated step operation, where the steps occur at intervals pre‐selectable between 0·5 and 34 sec; (d) scanning operation, where the specimen continuously moves along the x ‐axis and is shifted to the next line at a preselected distance when the end of the sweep is reached. The details of principle and operation are presented together with a few typical examples of application.