Optics: measuring and testing – By shade or color – With color transmitting filter
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-01
2004-07-13
Smith, Zandra (Department: 2877)
Optics: measuring and testing
By shade or color
With color transmitting filter
C250S458100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06762840
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image information reading apparatus, and more specifically, relates to an image information reading apparatus provided with an optical head which is capable of moving at least in a primary scanning direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fluorescence detection system adopting fluorescent dye as a marker has been well-known in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology. With this system, fluoroscopic image information of a sample, e.g. a gel-like sample supporting an organic substance which is distributed therein and marked with the fluorescent dye, can be read in a photoelectric manner. That enables, for example, evaluation of gene sequences, a level of gene expression, paths and stages of a metabolic process, an absorption process or an excretion process of a substance administered to a rat for an experiment, and molecular weight and other properties of a protein, as well as separation and identification of a protein.
Further, molecular weight and other properties of a DNA fragment may also be evaluated by preparing a gel-like supporting object in which a plurality of the DNA fragments marked with the fluorescent dye are distributed based on electrophoresis, a phenomenon in which living cells in a suspension or molecules of a biological compound (e.g. a protein) in a solution are collected around an anode or a cathode because of interaction between electrical charges carried by the cells or the molecules and an electric field in the suspension or the solution, irradiating the gel-like supporting object with stimulating light which is capable of stimulating the fluorescent dye used as the marker therein, photoelectrically detecting the fluorescence induced in the gel-like supporting object to obtain image information representing the distribution of the DNA fragments marked with the fluorescent dye, and displaying a visual image (an image of the above distribution which may be referred to as a fluoroscopic image) on a display device such as a display part of CRT based on the obtained image information, wherein the gel-like supporting object may be prepared by adding the fluorescent dye to a solution containing the DNA fragments and then inducing electrophoresis motion of the DNA fragments within the gel-like supporting object, by inducing the electrophoresis motion of the DNA fragments within the gel-like supporting object containing the fluorescent dye, or by inducing the electrophoresis motion of the DNA fragments within the gel-like supporting object and then soaking the gel-like supporting object under a solution containing the fluorescent dye.
An image information reading apparatus for carrying out the processes as described above has become quite popular in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology. This image information reading apparatus irradiates the gel-like supporting object with the stimulating light, detects the fluorescence in the photoelectric manner to obtain the image information, and displays the fluoroscopic image on the display device based on the obtained image information.
Though the sample is scanned with the stimulating light using a rotating polygon mirror and an f&thgr; lens in the image information reading apparatus of the most popular type, the image information reading apparatus suggested in the present application is of another type called an optical head scanning type which does not employ the rotating polygon mirror and the f&thgr; lens.
FIGS. 4 and 5
illustrate a typical constitution of the image information reading apparatus of the optical head scanning type which appears in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 10(1998)-3134. The illustrated apparatus is constituted of a light source
30
for generating an stimulating light beam L, a lens
31
, a photomultiplier
40
for detecting intensity of fluorescence K entering thereon in the photoelectric manner to generate an image signal S, an stimulating light cutting filter
41
, a sample holding portion
20
for holding a scanning target carrying certain image information, a gel-like supporting object
10
with glass in this example, an optical head
50
which leads the stimulating light beam L emitted by the light source
30
to the gel-like supporting object
10
placed on the sample holding portion
20
so that the gel-like supporting object
10
is irradiated with the stimulating light beam L and the fluorescence K is induced thereby and which leads the fluorescence K emitted downward from the upper surface of the gel-like supporting object
10
to the photomultiplier
40
, primary scanning means
60
for moving the optical head
50
in a primary scanning direction (a direction of x as indicated with an arrow in
FIG. 4
) with respect to the gel-like supporting object
10
so that the gel-like supporting object
10
is scanned in the primary scanning direction with the stimulating light beam L led thereto by the optical head
50
, and secondary scanning means
80
for moving the optical head
50
etc. in a secondary scanning direction (a direction of Y as indicated with another arrow in
FIG. 4
) which is orthogonal to the primary scanning direction.
According to the image information reading apparatus of the optical head scanning type, the stimulating light beam L passes through an aperture
52
a
opened on the mirror
52
which constitutes the optical head
50
, and then stimulates the gel-like supporting object
10
to induce the fluorescence K therein. The fluorescence K emitted downward from the upper surface of the gel-like supporting object
10
proceeds along an optical path of the stimulating light beam L in the reverse direction and reaches the mirror
52
on which the aperture
52
a
is opened. As a beam diameter of the fluorescence K at the mirror
52
is larger than that of the stimulating light beam L, only a small fraction of the fluorescence K passes through the aperture
52
a,
and a major portion of the fluorescence K is reflected by the mirror
52
, led to the photomultiplier
40
, and detected by the photomultiplier
40
in the photoelectric manner. The image information reading apparatus of the optical head scanning type is effective in improving an S/N ratio of the signal (the image information) read in the photoelectric manner, as the apparatus does not employ a dichroic mirror for irradiating the scanning target, e.g. the gel-like supporting object
10
, and thus provides more excitation energy to the scanning target. than an apparatus in which the scanning target is irradiated with the stimulating light beam reflected by the dichroic mirror. In addition, sharpness of the image information may also be improved as the image information reading apparatus of the optical head scanning type detects only the fluorescence induced at a spot currently irradiated with the stimulating light beam and does not detect afterglow of the fluorescence from adjacent areas where the irradiation has already been completed.
However, the image information reading apparatus of the optical head scanning type also has a problem. The problem occurs because the scanning target which carries the image information to be read may be any of a gel-like supporting object without glass, a membrane filter onto which the gel-like supporting object is transcribed, or an accumulation phosphor sheet, instead of the gel-like supporting object with glass described above. Though the fluorescence would be emitted from the upper surface of the scanning target as shown in
FIG. 5
if the scanning target was the gel-like supporting object with glass, the fluorescence might be emitted from other parts in the scanning target if the scanning target was one of the other types listed above.
For example, the fluorescence would be emitted from any part along a thickness dimension of the scanning target if the scanning target was the gel-like supporting object without glass, or would be emitted from a lower surface of the scanning target if the scanning target was the accumulation phosphor sheet. Concern
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