Radiant energy – Luminophor irradiation
Patent
1992-12-02
1994-06-21
Hannaher, Constantine
Radiant energy
Luminophor irradiation
2503581, 25022720, 359385, 359389, G02B 2100, G02B 2106
Patent
active
053230094
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to the field of microscopy and more particularly to scanning confocal microscopes.
The principles of a scanning confocal microscope are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,467 of Marvin Minsky. The basic principle is that illumination of the specimen or object to be observed is confined to a restricted region and observation or detection is confined to that illuminated region. A complete image is derived by scanning the specimen or object under observation region by region through a complete field of view of the microscope.
Confocal microscopes have better resolution than conventional microscopes and sharper definition in that out of focus signals and interference are much reduced. They have found particular application in the examination of biological specimens by epi-fluorescence where the reduction of out of focus interference is a major advantage.
International Patent Application No. PCT/AU89/00298 discloses the use of fibre optics in confocal microscopes of various configurations. The present invention applies fibre optics to tandem scanning microscopes in which the returning confocal light is scanned across a photographic film, a two dimensional CCD chip or some other photosensitive means in tandem with the scanning of the illuminating light across the specimen to produce a real time image. Microscopes of this kind are known in which the isolation of the focal plane in the specimen under observation is achieved in a conventional lens system by the movement of a series of pin holes or one or more slits in a very thin sheet of opaque material, the plane of the sheet of opaque material coinciding with an intermediate focal plane of the microscope system. Such systems have been described by Petran, Kino and others as described for example in The Handbook Of Biological Confocal Microscopy, James Pawley editor, IMR Press, 1989.
By the present invention, light is carried to and from the object to be examined by means of one or more optic fibres which serve as transmitters for the illuminating light and the returning confocal light. In some arrangements in accordance with the invention, the optic fibres provide effective pin holes enabling isolation of the focal plane in the specimen under observation. In other embodiments of the invention, the spatial filter producing the focal plane isolation is not the core of the fibre itself but is located at an intermediate focal plane produced by a further lens. In these cases the spatial filter may consist of a thin sheet of opaque material coinciding with the intermediate focal plane.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a scanning confocal epi-illumination microscope comprising:
a light source;
optical fibre means to receive and transmit illuminating light from the light source;
a light condenser for receiving the illuminating light transmitted via the optical fibre means and for condensing the illuminating light onto an object to illuminate an observational field on or within the object and for receiving light emanating from the observational field and directing that emanated light back along the optical fibre means as light returning in a direction opposite to the illuminating light;
light separator means for separating the returning light from the illuminating light;
returning light receiver means for receiving returning light from the light separator means and for exposing a photosensitive means to the returning light; and
scanning means operative to move the illuminating light in a scanning path relative to said object and simultaneously to move the returning light in a corresponding scanning path relative to the photosensitive means whereby to cause the photosensitive means to produce from the returning light an image of the scanned object.
The scanning means may comprise a first scanner to move the illuminating light as it is transmitted from the optical fibre means to the object, a second scanner to move the returning light as it is transmitted from the light separator means to the
REFERENCES:
patent: 4410235 (1983-10-01), Klement et al.
patent: 4500204 (1985-02-01), Ogura
patent: 4927254 (1990-05-01), Kino et al.
patent: 5101295 (1992-03-01), Lichtman et al.
patent: 5120953 (1992-06-01), Harris
Glick Edward J.
Hannaher Constantine
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