Olympus WI-DICTHRA High Resolution DIC Prism

The Olympus WI-DICTHRA is a high resolution Nomarski differential interference contrast (DIC) prism designed for use with the WI-SRE2, WI-SRE3, WI-SSNP, and WI-SNPXLU-2 water immersion nosepieces on the Olympus BX51WI and BX61WI upright water immersion microscopes. As a Nomarski DIC prism, the WI-DICTHRA splits and recombines polarized light beams traveling through slightly different lateral positions in the specimen, converting refractive index and thickness gradients into amplitude contrast to produce a high-contrast pseudo-three-dimensional relief image of transparent, unstained specimens. The high resolution designation indicates this prism is optimized for maximum spatial resolution — critical in applications such as patch-clamp electrophysiology, where individual neurons and fine cellular processes must be resolved with precision in live brain slices. A key advantage of the WI-DICTHRA is its Sénarmont DIC configuration: when used with a Sénarmont-equipped condenser, all DIC contrast adjustments are performed using the ¼ wave plate positioned below the condenser rather than by rotating the prism itself. This eliminates the risk of disturbing the stage, specimen, manipulators, or nosepiece during contrast optimization — an essential feature in sensitive electrophysiology and live cell setups. This unit is in demonstration model condition at a significant discount from the list price.