Examples of Anaglyphic Stereo in Microscopy

Take a look at these fine examples of 3D information being communicated with this medium!

Virtually all information that can be taken as stereo pairs can ultimately be presented (sometimes converted) to the anaglyphic stereo format. Once it is in this form, it can be communicated over the internet via a website or even used as part of a PowerPoint presentation to a large audience. All that anyone needs is an inexpensive pair of anaglyphic red/blue (or red/green) stereo glasses.

Just remember that in some parts of the world (e.g. North America), red/blue is the preferred color combination but in other areas (e.g. Europe), red/green is the preferred combination. In the far east, both systems seem to be in use.

For many years, conventional software, such as ORION™ has been available for the production of anaglyphic stereo images. However, with the new and innovative imaging software, the MeX 3D Reconstruction Software from Alicona GmbH, there has been a vast improvement in the quality that is possible with the use of anaglyphic stereo information. The examples below permit the comparision of the conventional technology vs. the new MeX 3D Reconstruction Software.

Table of examples:
Conventional Technology

Microporous polymer powder used as carrier for active ingredients in cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations
Liposome suspension done by freeze fracture and etching, TEM

New Alicona technology from Alicona Imaging GmbH

We have been fascinated with the information that is often times lost when images are not obtained in stereo, this being especially true for SEM images but also in a surprisingly large number of cases for TEM images as well. Stereo pairs can be taken, but it has always been inconvenient to communicate the 3D information to others without having also present a high quality stereoscope.

While the use of the anaglyphic stereo concept is not a new one, the combination of anaglyphic stereo and the internet, so that the anaglyphic stereo image can be communicated via a webpage around the world, is something new. And it represents a very powerful tool for communicating 3D information to others, in a convenient form without requiring the purchase of a mirror stereoscope.

Hence we would want to make the following two final points:

Clients can send SPI and Structure Probe, Inc. stereo pairs for conversion to an anaglyphic stereo image. The final result is first put up on a private URL for immediate client approval and then the image can be either copied directly off of the webpage or we can send the image as a jpg file as an e-mail attachment. We have learned that some images can be converted easier than others, however we would be happy to quote a fixed price for the conversion of any of your stereo pairs for this kind of demonstration.
For clients wanting to do the anaglyphic stereo images themselves, in house, we can refer them to either Spectrum Color™, the conventional software product, or the MeX™ 3D Reconstruction Software from Alicona GmbH.

For someone contemplating even low levels of work of this type, making the purchase of one of these inexpensive software products makes it very easy to do this kind of conversion work in-house.