mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

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blekenbleu
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mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by blekenbleu »

Before LASIK, radial keratotomy was popular, with incisions made using keratomes. often with diamond blades.
Before being bought out by Bausch & Lomb, Chiron's Magnum Diamond scope was used for setting incision depth.
They are occasionally available fairly cheaply.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=ch ... nd&_sop=15
Early scopes have a spring-loaded X-Y block positioned by a pair of Mitutoyo micrometers,
a Nikon CFWN 10x/20 ocular and E Plan 10/0.25 LWD objective.
Early versions were painted gold:
Image
... more recent ones are black.

Having little interest in knife blades:
Image
.. that fixture will be replaced by something more general purpose.
Metaphot, Optiphot 1, 66; AO 10, 120, and EPIStar 2571
https://blekenbleu.github.io/microscope

ray_parkhurst
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by ray_parkhurst »

Thanks for pointing these out. I'm surprised these have never shown up in my searches, but indeed they are new to me. I've purchased measurement scopes made by a few companies and most have been large and heavy. This one, while not technically a measurement scope yet can seemingly fit that purpose, appears quite compact. I've ordered one and will post about it when it arrives.

Scarodactyl
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by Scarodactyl »

Cool! I've been curious about these as they show up in searches for diamond microscopes (which I like). I'll look forward to a review.

blekenbleu
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by blekenbleu »

The (approx 38mm o.d.) focus knobs on mine turn a little less than a full revolution, with focus travel less than 19mm.
Vertical shaft diameter is 19mm or 3/4 inch; screws are "U.S. Customary Unit" (USC) rather than metric.
Base dimensions are about 125x150mm; overall height around 350mm. Weight is about 5kg.
Spring-loaded XY stage beneath keratome fixture is about 75x75x37mm.

RMS objective mount has a threaded 12.8mm i.d. tube with knurled jam nut:
RMS.jpg
... allowing tube length adjustment.

I have not yet found documentation other than the U.S. patent:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US4662075A/en
Metaphot, Optiphot 1, 66; AO 10, 120, and EPIStar 2571
https://blekenbleu.github.io/microscope

Scarodactyl
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by Scarodactyl »

19mm? That should fit a BHMJ focus mount which would be neat.

blekenbleu
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by blekenbleu »

Scarodactyl wrote:
Sat Jan 07, 2023 6:13 am
19mm? That should fit a BHMJ focus mount
My guess is that BHMJ focus mount optical axis center would be too far from focus rod center
to be accommodated by Chiron XY stage as is. That distance is 80mm..
Shuffling XY stage to the Chiron base front edge could increase that to about 105mm.

XY stage mounting hole spacing is about 51 x 63mm.
Image

No XY stage mounting hole works well for centering a 60mm rotating stage.
Image
Metaphot, Optiphot 1, 66; AO 10, 120, and EPIStar 2571
https://blekenbleu.github.io/microscope

Macro_Cosmos
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by Macro_Cosmos »

$10?!
That is crazy. This looks like a very adequate field setup.
Too bad there is no transillumination, might be something addable.

Later versions appear to have some kind of diffused green LED for transmitted light, easily replaceable I would guess.

blekenbleu
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by blekenbleu »

Macro_Cosmos wrote:
Mon Jan 09, 2023 4:54 pm
That is crazy
plus shipping
no transillumination
I am almost completely opaque.
Later versions appear to have some kind of diffused green LED for transmitted light, easily replaceable I would guess.
This earlier version had a 6V incandescent bulb packaged in a glass fuse,
shown above on the gold tone keratome fixture,
held beneath a green diffuse filter, powered by 4 AA cells.
Metaphot, Optiphot 1, 66; AO 10, 120, and EPIStar 2571
https://blekenbleu.github.io/microscope

blekenbleu
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by blekenbleu »

Tilt stage arrived; using M42 helicoid for Z axis...
trying to decide whether rotate over tilt will be more generally convenient than tilt above rotate.
Image
Metaphot, Optiphot 1, 66; AO 10, 120, and EPIStar 2571
https://blekenbleu.github.io/microscope

ray_parkhurst
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by ray_parkhurst »

By "tilt" it looks like you mean a goniometer, is this correct? You probably already know this, but if you know (or can measure) the radius of curvature of the goiniometer, it's usually best to place it in the mechanicals stack such that the subject plane is at the center of the curve in order to minimize movement when "tilting".

Edited to add: similar to above, if you can put the helicoid below the goniometer you can further minimize movement during focusing, which can be troublesome. This might force you to use spacers if you want the hit the center of curvature, but even if you don't do this, it's probably more important to have the z adjust below the goniometer IMO. IOW it's best if the z-stage axis is parallel to the optical axis.

blekenbleu
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Re: mini measure scope AKA Chiron Magnum Diamond keratome scope

Post by blekenbleu »

ray_parkhurst wrote:
Wed Jan 11, 2023 3:35 pm
if you know (or can measure) the radius of curvature of the goiniometer, it's usually best to place it in the mechanicals stack such that the subject plane is at the center of the curve in order to minimize movement when "tilting".
Helicoid is currently above the goniometer to tweak centering objects of interest, which vary in height, in its curve.
I thought that most likely to help maximize in-focus surface when cranking the gonio to optimize surface normal to the objective.
Curvature radius is 40mm for MiSUMi GFG40-40.
Metaphot, Optiphot 1, 66; AO 10, 120, and EPIStar 2571
https://blekenbleu.github.io/microscope

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