When I think back to my high school biology class and using a microscope with low vision, I remember my lab partner (and best friend to this day) would provide detailed verbal descriptions of what different slides looked like and attempt to draw some of them with high contrast markers, since I couldn’t see any of the slides. Accessible microscopes weren’t available at my high school, so it wasn’t until college that I used a microscope with low vision for the first time and learned about the variety of microscope options for visually impaired users. Here is a list of tips for choosing accessible microscopes for low vision and making microscopy accessible for visually impaired students who access information visually.
What microscopes are available?
Before the first day of class, the student and/or members of their education team should ask what types of microscopes are used in the classroom, as well as the name of the model used. This can be helpful for researching existing accessibility features such as compatibility with external displays, keyboard shortcuts for controlling software, and other potential connectivity options. Some colleges will publicize which microscopes are available within different departments or campuses, or the professor may list this in the syllabus. Asking about this information in advance can give the student and/or support team more time to find an accessible microscope or microscope alternative.
Related links
- Science Labs and Low Vision
- A to Z of Assistive Technology For Low Vision
- How To Explain Disability Accommodations To Professors
- What To Know About College Assistive Technology Specialists
Connect microscope to external screen
Video microscopes have a built-in screen and/or option for connecting to an external screen to view specimens, and often provide options for saving images in high resolution. These are an ideal option for students with low vision who can view microscopes on a larger screen or at a more natural viewing angle, as the screens are easier to access compared to the narrow eye piece on a traditional microscope. One of my friends mentioned they had used the PentaView LCD Digital Microscope for their classes, and would use the built-in screen when working independently. If they were sharing a microscope with another person, they would mirror the display to a TV, so they didn’t have to hunch over to see the screen.
For higher-level classes, the same friend mentioned how important it was to have a dissecting microscope with a larger screen. While all students in the class had access to a microscope with a 10-inch screen, my friend requested a larger screen (22-inch) that was easier for them to access and connected to the microscope via USB or HDMI cables.
Related links
- PentaView LCD Digital Microscope | Celestron
- How To Organize and Identify Cords For Low Vision
- Questions To Ask When Choosing A Laptop For College
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: Televisions
Desktop video magnifier
While a desktop video magnifier or CCTV may not provide powerful enough magnification for examining cells, it is a fantastic tool for exploring other specimens or items in detail. I used my HIMS E-Bot Pro in my college geology class to examine samples and apply display filters to graphics to increase the contrast and make the images easier to see. I paired it with an XY table that could be repositioned and placed dark cardstock behind light-colored items to make them easier to focus on.
While the E-Bot Pro is no longer sold, similar desktop video magnifiers can be used to enlarge items and explore visual details. Many models also offer an option for connecting to a larger external display as well.
Related links
- How I Use The HIMS E-Bot Pro In College
- Five Apps I Use In The Science Classroom As A Low Vision Student
- How To Create Accessible Videos and Narrated Images With Clips
Foldscope paper microscope
Foldscope is a low-cost paper microscope that features a small lens with three magnification options, including 50x, 140x, and 340x. Foldscope microscopes can be used with or without a smartphone camera to provide magnification to different types of specimens, and can be used with brightfield, darkfield, and fluorescence modes to explore different types of specimens. Foldscope’s YouTube channel also offers several tutorials for using it in different contexts.
My brother gifted me a Foldscope paper microscope that he got at a science event, as he thought it would be helpful to pair with my smartphone for increased magnification. This definitely would have been helpful for my high school science classes or for outdoor activities, as it is easier for me to position and adjust images compared to a traditional microscope, and I can also position content within my field of vision. Alternatively, I could save images to my camera roll, or mirror my phone display with Chromecast.
Related links
- Foldscope Paper Microscopes | Portable Microscopes
- Foldscope Instruments – YouTube
- Foldscope microscope, an inexpensive alternative tool to conventional microscopy—Applications in research and education: A review
- How I Use My Phone As Assistive Technology In Class
- Ways I Use My Google Chromecast For Virtual Learning
DIY smartphone microscope stand
Kenji Yoshino created a DIY microscope stand that can provide up to 375x magnification when paired with a smartphone camera, which can be used in a lab setting or for less structured science activities. The microscope stand itself costs about $10 USD to make, can be constructed in less than an hour, and does not require any specialty smartphone applications or internet access for viewing images. One of my science professors used this stand (or something very similar) to take pictures of specimens in high resolution and share them in a folder on the class website so students could compare different sets of images.
Related links
- $10 Smartphone to Digital Microscope Conversion! : 9 Steps (with Pictures) – Instructables
- Free Digital Bookmarking Tools For Low Vision
Provide high resolution images of samples
When examining images of samples, I often will use my iPad to explore the image using pinch-to-zoom, apply display filters, or adjust the display angle so it is positioned under the bifocal in my glasses. This process is a lot easier when my professors provide high resolution images of samples and captions/image descriptions that give me an idea of what I am looking at, or that share what makes an image interesting or unique. This is also useful for images that have text labels that would be otherwise difficult or impossible to read, as I can either zoom in on the text or extract it using a tool like Seeing AI or Google Lens to have the text enlarged/read out loud.
Since saving an image to my device often means losing access to alt text, I prefer to have image descriptions in a document or on the course website that provide visual details about an image.
Related links
- How To Create High Resolution Images For Low Vision
- How To Write Alt Text For Educational Content
- Microsoft Seeing AI And Low Vision
- How I Use Google Lens With Low Vision
- Recognizing Images With Seeing AI
Adjust colors of microscope images for colorblindness
Conveying information through color alone can be challenging for students with colorblindness or other types of color deficiencies. Several microscopy image processing programs provide the option to customize 2-channel, 3-channel, and 4-channel microscope images to be suitable for colorblindness, such as FIJI/ImageJ and Photoshop, or using image conversion tools. This can include the following color adjustments:
- Avoid mixing shades of red and green together
- Convert shades of red to magenta
- Combine magenta or red with yellow and cyan for three-color combinations
- Consider using magenta, yellow, green, and blue for four-color combinations
- Display images with split channels to highlight key features
- Using grayscale/inverted grayscale for all colors
For students with low vision, contrast can also play a strong role in accessing color, and using a color contrast checker like WAVE can help assess if an image possesses adequate contrast.
Related links
- High Contrast and Low Vision
- WebAIM: Contrast Checker
- Strategies for making 2-or 3-channel microscope images colorblind safe…. | Download Scientific Diagram (researchgate.net)
More resources on accessible microscopes for low vision
- Looking for an accessible microscope activity that pre-teaches the parts of a microscope? Check out Parts of a Microscope: Lab – Perkins School for the Blind
- Students with visual impairments may need extra/extended time to process the visual details of images or complete tasks using a microscope in general, or to split tasks into multiple sessions due to visual fatigue. My professors would give me the option to continue lab activities if needed during office hours. Learn more about extended time accommodations in Extended Time Accommodations For Low Vision
- Need ideas for creating DIY tactile graphics for low vision? I share a few ideas in How To Modify Accessible Anatomy Graphics For Low Vision
- Want more science posts? Browse Science And Math Archives | Veronica With Four Eyes (veroniiiica.com)
Published August 12, 2024. Updated November 2025