How many light microscopes are sold each year from each major
manufacturer?

How many light microscopes are sold each year into each scientific or
engineering discipline?

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Request for Question Clarification by crabcakes-ga on 28 Oct 2002 11:26 PST

What kind of light microscopes are you referring to....compound,
stereoscopic, scanning, confocal, etc.? All the information you can
supply us would be helpful in locating the precise answer.  Also, do
you want to know ow many are sold in the US ? Thanks.

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Clarification of Question by papajim-ga on 29 Oct 2002 06:26 PST

The light microscope of interest would contain a simple objective and
stereo ocular.  It may be inverted or not.  It would always have a
camera port.  It may be scanning, it may be confocal.  It would
typically be used in microscopy, but in other disciplines as well.

The point of the question is to determine the possible market size for
a semi-automated, computer controlled, point and click, micro
electrode positioning invention.

Markets include US and Europe, but would be happy if you limited
question to US.

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Clarification of Question by papajim-ga on 30 Oct 2002 05:02 PST

A comment from neilzero suggests the question is too difficult.  OK,
to narrow the question, I would limit the type of microscope to
profesional, not toy.  Only major manufacturers to include Zeiss,
Olympus, Nikon.  Only stereo microscopes.  If it would make the answer
easier, limit the scientific discipline to bio-medical.

I hate to be negative but, I don't think a meaningful answer is
possible. Drawing the line between major and not so major
manufacturers will be difficult. Some will consider their sales of
specific models confidential information. Many are made without a
camera port but an adaptor is available as an option. The largest
sales are likely microscopes that are more toys than professional
instruments, but that does not exclude a port to attach a web cam,
and/or video camera or ccd = charge coupled device which are clearly a
sort of camera. Some quality units are made in China, Hongkong etc but
distributed in the USA by retailers such as Edmund scientific, Walmart
etc. There are likely several other problems to getting accurate
numbers that will be useful to you. I will guess 100,000 instruments
sold in USA and Europe anually that fit your description.  Neilzero