Patent ID: 8254021

Claim:
An apparatus comprising a microscope that includes: a base having a wall portion defining a chamber, said chamber located above and providing access to a location for a specimen, said wall portion having a plurality of openings therein that extend through said wall portion from said chamber to a region external to said base; imaging optics supported on said base and at least partially located within said chamber, and configured to image a region that includes said location; a first illumination module removably installed in a first opening of said plurality of openings and supported on said base, said first illumination module including a first source of first radiation, and including first illumination optics positioned between said first source and said location and configured to deliver said first radiation from said first source to said location, said first illumination optics including a first lens positioned between said first source and said location so that said first radiation travelling from said first source to said location passes through said first lens; and a second illumination module removable installed in a second opening of said plurality of openings and supported on said base, said second illumination module including a second source of second radiation and second illumination optics configured to deliver said second radiation to said location, said second illumination optics including a second lens positioned between said second source and said location so that said second radiation travelling from said second source to said location passes through said second lens, said second radiation being in a different wavelength range than said first radiation.