Many vets take it for granted that they can send a sample to the lab and get a diagnosis in a few days. However, for most of the world, this is not practical. In remote parts of the world, it is often impossible to get samples to a lab without significant degradation and just as hard to use a fragile and cumbersome bench microscope in the field. Andrew Monk of ioLight identifies how the availability of portable high-resolution microscope technology has the potential to make a huge difference to field researchers and local clinics and charities globally, as well as with remote animal health.