APPLIED PRECISION, INC. Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20130342886 | VARIABLE ORIENTATION ILLUMINATION-PATTERN ROTATOR - Variable orientation illumination-pattern rotators (“IPRs”) that can be incorporated into structured illumination microscopy instruments to rapidly rotate an interference pattern are disclosed. An IPR includes a rotation selector and at least one mirror cluster. The rotation selector directs beams of light into each one of the mirror clusters for a brief period of time. Each mirror cluster imparts a particular predetermined angle of rotation on the beams. As a result, the beams output from the IPR are rotated through each of the rotation angles imparted by each of the mirror clusters. The rotation selector enables the IPR to rotate the beams through each predetermined rotation angle on the order of 5 milliseconds or faster. | 12-26-2013 |
20130335819 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ILLUMINATION PHASE CONTROL IN FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY - Illumination phase controls that provide precise and fast phase control of structured illumination patterns used in structure illumination microscopy are described. A coherent light source is used to generate a beam of coherent light that is split into at least three coherent beams of light. In one aspect, an illumination phase control is composed of at least one pair of rotatable windows to apply at least one phase shift to at least one of the beams. An objective lens is to receive the beams and focus the at least three beams to form an interference pattern. The phase control can be used to change the position of the interference pattern by changing the at least one phase shift applied to the at least one beam. | 12-19-2013 |
20130335798 | LASER BEAM IRRADIANCE CONTROL SYSTEMS - Irradiance control systems (“ICSs”) that control the irradiance of a beam of light are disclosed. ICSs include in a beam translator and a beam launch. The beam translator translates the beam substantially perpendicular to the propagating direction of the beam with a desired displacement so that the beam launch can remove a portion of the translated beam and the beam can be output with a desired irradiance. The beam launch attenuates the irradiance of the beam based on the amount by which the beam is translated. ISCs can be incorporated into fluorescent microscopy instruments to provide high-speed, fine-tune control over the irradiance of excitation beams. | 12-19-2013 |
20130300853 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CAMERA-BASED IMAGE PROCESSING IN MICROSCOPY INSTRUMENTS - Systems and methods for executing super-resolution microscopy of a specimen with most of the image processing performed in a camera of a fluorescence microscopy instrument are described. In one aspect, the camera includes one or more processors to execute machine-readable instructions that control excitation light output from a multi-channel light source, control capture of intermediate images of the specimen, and perform image processing of the intermediate images to produce a final super-resolution image of the specimen. | 11-14-2013 |
20130286456 | LIGHT-SCANNING SYSTEMS - Various light-scanning systems that can be used to perform rapid point-by-point illumination of a focal plane within a specimen are disclosed. The light-scanning systems can be incorporated in confocal microscopy instruments to create an excitation beam pivot axis that lies within an aperture at the back plate of an objective lens. The light-scanning systems receive a beam of excitation light from a light source and direct the excitation beam to pass through the pivot point in the aperture of the back plate of the objective lens while continuously scanning the focused excitation beam across a focal plane. | 10-31-2013 |
20130188035 | CALIBRATION TARGETS FOR MICROSCOPE IMAGING - This disclosure is directed to optical microscope calibration devices that can be used with optical microscopes to adjust the microscope imaging parameters so that images of samples can be obtained below the diffraction limit. The microscope calibration devices include at least one calibration target. Each calibration target includes a number of features with dimensions below the diffraction limit of a microscope objective. Separate color component diffraction limited images of one of the calibration targets are obtained for a particular magnification. The color component images can be combined and image processed to obtain a focused and non-distorted image of the calibration target. The parameters used to obtain the focused and non-distorted image of the calibration target can be used to obtain focused and non-distorted images of a sample for the same magnification by using the same parameters. | 07-25-2013 |
20130170024 | OBLIQUE-ILLUMINATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Oblique-illumination systems integrated with fluorescence microscopes and methods of using oblique illumination in fluorescence microscopy are disclosed. An oblique-illumination system is attached to a fluorescence microscope objective. The oblique-illumination system can be used to illuminate from any desired direction the surface of an object located at a fixed known offset away from a sample solution containing fluorescently tagged targets. Oblique illumination is used to illuminate features of the surface while epi-illumination is used to create fluorescent light emitted from the tagged targets. The combination of oblique illumination of the surface and epi-illumination of the targets enables capture of images of the surface features and the fluorescent targets so that the locations of the targets in the sample can be determined based on the locations of the surface features. | 07-04-2013 |
20130134294 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTINUOUS, ASYNCHRONOUS AUTOFOCUS OF OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS - Embodiments of the present invention are directed to autofocus subsystems within optical instruments that continuously monitor the focus of the optical instruments and adjust distances within the optical instrument along the optical axis in order to maintain a precise and stable optical-instrument focus at a particular point or surface on, within, or near a sample. Certain embodiments of the present invention operate asynchronously with respect to operation of other components and subsystems of the optical instrument in which they are embedded. | 05-30-2013 |
20130016328 | DISPERSING IMMERSION LIQUID FOR HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGING AND LITHOGRAPHY - Methods and apparatus are described for delivering index-matching immersion liquid in high numerical-aperture optical microscopy and lithography. An array of immersion liquid droplets is delivered to a specimen substrate or specimen substrate cover by an immersion liquid printing apparatus. An immersion liquid reservoir provides immersion liquid to the printer by a precision pump. The printer delivers immersion liquid to the substrate or substrate cover in arrays of immersion liquid droplets of defined volumes and array patterns. The volumes and patterns of array droplets delivered to the substrate or substrate cover are optimized to maintain adequate immersion liquid between the substrate or substrate cover and an immersion objective while avoiding the formation of air bubbles in the immersion liquid and the accumulation of excess volumes of immersion liquid. | 01-17-2013 |
20120268584 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DENSE-STOCHASTIC-SAMPLING IMAGING - Embodiments of the present invention are directed to imaging technologies, and, in particular, to an imaging system that detects relatively weak signals, over time, and that uses the detected signals to determine the positions of signal emitters. Particular embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods and systems for imaging fluorophore-labeled samples in order to produce images of the sample at resolutions significantly greater than the diffraction-limited resolution associated with optical microscopy. Embodiments of the present invention employ overlapping-emitter-image disambiguation to allow data to be collected from densely arranged emitters, which significantly decreases the data-collection time for producing intermediate images as well as the number of intermediate images needed to computationally construct high-resolution final images. Additional embodiments of the present invention employ hierarchical image-processing techniques to further resolve and interpret disambiguated images. | 10-25-2012 |
20120176673 | SYSTEMS FOR FLUORESCENCE ILLUMINATION USING SUPERIMPOSED POLARIZATION STATES - Various superimposing beam controls that can superimpose beams of light with different optical properties are described. In one aspect, a beam control receives a beam of light and outputs one or more beams. Each beam is output in a different polarization state and with different optical properties. Superimposing beam controls can be incorporated in fluorescence microscopy instruments to split a beam of excitation light into one or more beams of excitation light. Each beam of excitation light has a different polarization and is output with different optical properties so that each excitation beam can be used to execute a different microscopy technique. | 07-12-2012 |
20120176672 | SYSTEMS FOR CHROMATIC ABERRATION CORRECTION IN TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY - Correction elements that can be incorporated in objective-based TIRF microscopy instruments to correct for chromatic aberrations are described. A correction element can be placed between a multiple wavelength excitation beam source and the microscope objective lens. In one aspect, the thickness of the correction element is defined to compensate for different axial positions of the focal points associated with each excitation wavelengths traveling along the outer edge of lenses comprising a microscope objective lens. In another aspect, the correction element can be angled and/or configured so that the different wavelengths of multiple wavelength excitation light are shifted to adjust the angle of incidence for each wavelength at the specimen/substrate interface. | 07-12-2012 |
20120033895 | DECONVOLUTION FOR THE REDUCTION OF BLURRING INDUCED BY INTERNAL REFLECTIONS - A system and method of image processing employ mathematical deconvolution to estimate the magnitude and location of a target object within an image. Both the nature of internal reflections and the convolution process by which each internal reflection contributes to blurring of the acquired image data may be measured and modeled. In accordance with mathematical deconvolution techniques, the combined effects of these internal reflections may be reduced to the extent that respective contributions of the target object and each individual reflection may be distinguished and quantified. | 02-09-2012 |
20100208061 | METHOD OF SCANNING BIOCHIP AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING THE SAME - An apparatus for scanning a biometric device includes a camera that scans the biometric device to generate images, and a computer that extracts data from the images. The computer measures three-dimensional locations of at least three different positions on a surface of the biometric device, determines one of a virtual approximation plane and a curved surface with respect to the surface of the biometric device based on the measured three-dimensional locations, determines imaging locations of two or more panels disposed on the biometric device based on the one of the virtual approximation plane and the curved surface, obtains individual images of the two or more panels by scanning the biometric device based on the determined imaging locations, and extracts overall data of the biometric device from the individual images of the two or more panels. | 08-19-2010 |
20090109416 | DISPERSING IMMERSION LIQUID FOR HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGING AND LITHOGRAPHY - Methods and apparatus are described for delivering index-matching immersion liquid in high numerical-aperture optical microscopy and lithography. An array of immersion liquid droplets is delivered to a specimen substrate or specimen substrate cover by an immersion liquid printing apparatus. An immersion liquid reservoir provides immersion liquid to the printer by a precision pump. The printer delivers immersion liquid to the substrate or substrate cover in arrays of immersion liquid droplets of defined volumes and array patterns. The volumes and patterns of array droplets delivered to the substrate or substrate cover are optimized to maintain adequate immersion liquid between the substrate or substrate cover and an immersion objective while avoiding the formation of air bubbles in the immersion liquid and the accumulation of excess volumes of immersion liquid. | 04-30-2009 |
20090097110 | POLARIZED PHASE MICROSCOPY - A system and method of generating and acquiring phase contrast microscope images while minimizing interference with the intensity and optical quality of other microscopy modalities employing polarization and attenuation strategies for phase microscopy applications. A plane polarizing objective phase ring may be used in conjunction with a phase microscopy apparatus. Attenuated light may be controlled such that transparency may be selectively provided with respect to light in a predetermined plane. Illumination outside of the predetermined plane may be selected for phase microscopy applications. Accordingly, a polarizing objective phase ring effective for enabling polarized phase microscopy may reduce interfere with normal usage of the microscope for other applications such as, for example, fluorescence microscopy. | 04-16-2009 |