Dual-mode microscope, and special assembly, operation method and application thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a dual-mode microscope and a special assembly, an operation method and application thereof, the dual-mode microscope comprises an optical microscope assembly and a lensless microscopy assembly, the optical microscope assembly and the lensless microscopy assembly form a switchable dual-mode microscope, a lensless microscopy mode is used for preliminary screening of a to-be-tested sample, and the optical microscope mode is used for accurate observation of the to-be-tested sample; the lensless microscopy assembly comprises a first light source, an image sensor and an image signal processor; in the lensless microscopy mode, the first light source and the image sensor are located on the two sides of a to-be-detected sample on the objective table, when light emitted by the first light source passes through the to-be-detected sample, the image sensor receives an optical signal and converts the optical signal into an electric signal, and the image signal processor converts the electric signal into an interference or diffraction image; and the image is restored into an image which can be directly observed. According to the dual-mode microscope, through dual-mode switching, the observation precision is guaranteed, meanwhile, the workload is greatly reduced, and too high requirements for the detection resolution of lensless microscopy are not needed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of microscopes, and in particular to a dual-mode microscope and its dedicated components, operating method and application. Background Art

[0002] The components of an optical microscope generally include a frame, on which a stage is mounted, the stage has a light hole, an objective lens converter containing multiple objective lenses, a lens barrel, and an eyepiece are mounted in sequence on the frame above the stage, and an aperture and a light source are mounted on the frame below the stage. When in use, turn on the light source, rotate the objective lens converter, align the low-power objective lens with the light hole of the stage, fix the prepared specimen to be tested on the stage, ensure that the part to be observed in the specimen to be tested is facing the center of the light hole, and adjust the appropriate aperture. Observation can be carried out using the eyepiece, or by rotating the objective lens converter and using a high-power objective lens. Existing optical microscopes, although they have accurate imaging, have a small imaging area and a small field of view. For example, when observing cancer cell samples in medical treatment, medical workers need a lot of work to carefully observe the sample part by part.

[0003] Lensless microscopy is an emerging technology product in recent years. Although it has a large field of view, it relies on complex algorithms and the reliability of the results is questionable.

[0004] As can be seen from the above, the existing traditional optical microscopes and lensless microscopy methods are in urgent need of further improvement in terms of structure, method, and use. How to create a new microscope that can observe quickly and accurately has become a goal that needs improvement in the current industry. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a dual-mode microscope and its dedicated components, operation methods and applications, so that it can observe quickly and accurately and reduce workload.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a dual-mode microscope comprising an optical microscope component and a lensless microscopy component, the two forming a switchable dual-mode microscope, wherein the lensless microscopy mode is used for preliminary screening of samples to be tested, and the optical microscope mode is used for precise observation of samples to be tested;

[0008] The lensless microscopy assembly includes a first light source, an image sensor, and an image signal processor connected to the image sensor;

[0009] In the lensless microscopy mode, the first light source and the image sensor are respectively located on both sides of the sample to be tested on the stage. When the light emitted by the first light source passes through the sample to be tested on the stage, the image sensor receives the corresponding light signal and converts it into an electrical signal. The image signal processor converts the electrical signal into an interference or diffraction image, and restores the interference or diffraction image to a directly observable image of the sample to be tested.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the image sensor is a CMOS or CCD image sensor;

[0011] And / or, the first light source is a single light source or an array light source or a multi-height displacement light source, and the first light source is an LED light source or a laser light source.

[0012] Furthermore, the optical microscope assembly includes a frame, the stage includes a transparent support portion for carrying a sample to be tested or the stage includes a light hole that can fully expose the sample to be tested, the frame above the stage is sequentially mounted with an objective lens converter including multiple objective lenses, a lens barrel, and an eyepiece, and the frame below the stage is mounted with an aperture and a second light source from top to bottom;

[0013] The first light source in the lensless microscopy replaces an objective lens on the nosepiece, or the first light source in the lensless microscopy is placed above the sample to be measured in an independent form.

[0014] Furthermore, the image sensor and the stage can move relative to each other; when converted to the first light source above the sample to be tested, the image sensor is located below the stage; in the optical microscope mode, when converted to the objective lens above the sample to be tested, the image sensor is moved away from under the stage.

[0015] Furthermore, the image sensor and the stage are connected relative to each other by a sliding connection, a rotating connection or a detachable connection.

[0016] Furthermore, the image sensor is connected below the stage in a pull-out manner.

[0017] In a second aspect, the present invention further provides a dedicated component for the dual-mode microscope, wherein the dedicated component is a lensless microscopy component, comprising:

[0018] a first light source, an image sensor, and an image signal processor connected to the image sensor;

[0019] The image sensor is provided with a stage connecting piece;

[0020] The first light source is provided with a connector for connecting to the objective lens converter of the optical microscope, or the first light source is provided with a connector for connecting to other parts of the optical microscope, so that the first light source can be placed above the sample to be measured in an independent form.

[0021] Furthermore, the stage connection member on the image sensor is a sliding connection member, a rotating connection member, or a detachable connection member;

[0022] And / or, the image sensor is a CMOS or CCD image sensor;

[0023] And / or, the first light source is a single light source or an array light source or a multi-height displacement light source, and the first light source is an LED light source or a laser light source.

[0024] In a third aspect, the present invention further provides a method for operating the dual-mode microscope, comprising:

[0025] First, use the lensless microscopy mode to conduct a preliminary observation of the sample with a large field of view; determine the area that needs further observation; then switch to the optical microscope mode for precise observation of the sample.

[0026] In a fourth aspect, the present invention further provides an application of the dual-mode microscope, wherein:

[0027] Used for screening of medical sample slices;

[0028] Or used for industrial sample quality inspection.

[0029] By adopting the above technical solution, the present invention has at least the following effects:

[0030] Based on the traditional optical microscope assembly, the present invention integrates a lensless microscopy assembly that uses a light source and an image sensor. It breaks through the traditional single optical microscope mode and forms a switchable dual-mode microscope as a whole. The lensless microscopy mode is used for preliminary screening of samples to be tested, and the optical microscope mode is used for precise observation of samples to be tested. Through this setting, taking the medical scene as an example, medical workers can first use the lensless microscopy mode to perform large-field screening to preliminarily screen out the key positions of the samples to be tested, and then use the optical microscope mode to perform local focused observations, while ensuring the accuracy of observations. The workload is greatly reduced. At the same time, due to the fine observation of the optical microscope, there is no need to have excessively high requirements for the detection resolution of the lensless microscopy. It can be seen that the present invention combines the advantages of the large field of view of the lensless microscopy and the high precision advantages of the optical microscope, and avoids the uncertainty that may be brought about by the computational optics of the lensless microscopy and the disadvantages of the small field of view of the optical microscope. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The above is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present invention, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0032] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the dual-mode microscope in the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a dual-mode microscope in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] In the figure: 1-optical microscope assembly; 11-frame; 12-stage; 13-objective lens; 14-objective lens converter; 15-lens barrel; 16-eyepiece; 17-second light source; 18-aperture; 2-lensless microscopy assembly; 21-first light source; 22-image sensor; 23-image signal processor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present invention and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0036] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a dual-mode microscope comprising an optical microscope assembly 1 and a lensless microscopy assembly 2. The two components form a switchable dual-mode microscope, wherein the lensless microscopy mode is used for preliminary screening of a sample to be tested, and the optical microscopy mode is used for precise observation of the sample to be tested. The lensless microscopy assembly 2 comprises a first light source 21, an image sensor 22, and an image signal processor 23 connected to the image sensor. In the lensless microscopy mode, the first light source 21 and the image sensor 22 are positioned on either side of the sample to be tested on a stage. When light emitted by the first light source 21 passes through the sample to be tested on the stage, the image sensor 22 receives the corresponding light signal and converts it into an electrical signal. The image signal processor 23 converts the electrical signal into an interference or diffraction image, and then restores the interference or diffraction image into a directly observable image of the sample to be tested. Here, a known algorithm, such as a fast reconstruction algorithm based on Fourier transform, can be used to restore the sample image to be tested. Of course, other existing algorithms can also be used to convert the image into an image that can be directly observed by the human eye. In this case, there is no need to impose excessively high detection resolution requirements on the lensless microscopy.

[0037] The image sensor 22 is a CMOS or CCD image sensor, and a CMOS image sensor is preferred in this embodiment.

[0038] The first light source 21 in the lensless microscopy technique can be a single light source, an array light source, or a multi-height displacement light source (a light source that can be moved at different heights). In addition, the first light source 21 can be an LED light source or a laser light source.

[0039] Based on the above principles, those skilled in the art can understand that the present invention mainly integrates a lensless microscopy component on the basis of a traditional optical microscope component to form a switchable dual-mode microscope. That is, as long as the lensless microscopy component is integrated with the traditional optical component and the two can be switched relative to each other, a new lensless detection light path can be formed between the first light source of the lensless microscopy component, the sample to be detected and the image sensor, and its installation position can be selected in a variety of options according to actual conditions.

[0040] As a preferred embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment provides a dual-mode microscope, wherein the optical microscope assembly includes a frame 11, on which a stage 12 is mounted. Stage 12 can be configured with a transparent support for supporting the sample to be tested, or with a light aperture that fully exposes the sample to be tested. The purpose of these two configurations is to enable the image sensor to obtain a larger field of view in lensless microscopy mode, allowing the entire sample to be tested to be captured at once. An objective lens revolver 14 containing multiple objective lenses 13, a lens barrel 15, and an eyepiece 16 are sequentially mounted on the frame above stage 12. A second light source 17 and an aperture 18 are mounted on the frame below stage 12, with aperture 18 and second light source 17 mounted on the frame from top to bottom.

[0041] In this embodiment, the nosepiece 14 has three positions. Two positions are used to mount conventional objective lenses 13, while the remaining position is replaced by a first light source 21 for lensless microscopy. In this embodiment, an LED is preferably used. Alternatively, the first light source 21 for lensless microscopy can be independently positioned above the sample to be measured, rather than replacing an objective lens.

[0042] The image sensor 22 and the stage 12 are movable relative to each other in order to realize dual-mode switching. For example, in the lensless microscopy mode, when the light source 21 is switched to the first light source 21 above the sample to be measured (for example, when the light source 21 is switched to the first light source 21 through the objective lens converter 14), the image sensor 22 is located below the stage 12; in the optical microscope mode, when the light source 21 is switched to the objective lens above the sample to be measured (for example, when the light source 13 is switched to the objective lens 13 through the objective lens converter 14), the image sensor 22 is moved away from below the stage 12. At this time, the second light source 17 in the optical microscope is started, the aperture 18 is adjusted, and fine observation is performed through the eyepiece 16 and the objective lens 13.

[0043] The image sensor 22 and the stage 12 are connected by a sliding or rotating connection to achieve relative movement. For example, the image sensor 22 can be connected to the bottom of the stage 12 by pulling out, similar to a drawer. Alternatively, the rotating connection can be horizontal or tiltable. Alternatively, a detachable connection can be provided, such as by providing a slot below the stage 12.

[0044] In the above embodiment, a complete dual-mode microscope is provided. Of course, a lensless microscopy component in a dual-mode microscope can also be specially produced during production, and used to refit a conventional optical microscope.

[0045] As described above, the lensless microscopy assembly includes a first light source, an image sensor, and an image signal processor connected to the image sensor; the image sensor is a CMOS or CCD image sensor; a stage connector is provided on the image sensor; it is mainly used to connect to the stage, and the connector is preferably a sliding connector, a rotating connector, or a detachable connector; the first light source is provided with a connector connected to the objective lens converter of the optical microscope, and is mainly used to be installed on the objective lens converter of the optical microscope; or, the first light source is provided with a connector to other parts of the optical microscope, so that the first light source can be placed above the sample to be measured in an independent form.

[0046] The operating method of the dual-mode microscope comprises:

[0047] First, use the lensless microscopy mode to conduct a preliminary observation of the sample with a large field of view; determine the area that needs further observation; then switch to the optical microscope mode for precise observation of the sample.

[0048] In practical applications, the dual-mode microscope can be used for screening medical sample slices or for quality inspection of industrial samples. For example, when observing cancer cell samples, lensless microscopy mode is used to perform a preliminary, wide-field observation of the sample. The area requiring further observation (e.g., an area with obvious abnormalities) is determined. The microscope then switches to optical microscopy mode for precise observation of the sample. Specifically, the position of the sample on the stage is adjusted (automatically or manually) so that the abnormal area is directly above the center of the second light source. The microscope then switches back to optical microscopy, allowing the true morphology of the sample to be visualized. This invention combines the advantages of lensless microscopy's wide field of view with the high precision of optical microscopy, while avoiding the potential uncertainties inherent in lensless microscopy computational optics and the disadvantages of optical microscopy's small field of view.

[0049] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention in any form. Those skilled in the art can make some simple modifications, equivalent changes or modifications based on the technical content disclosed above, which all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A dual-mode microscope comprising an optical microscope assembly, characterized in that: It also includes a lensless microscopy component, and the two form a switchable dual-mode microscope. The lensless microscopy mode is used for preliminary screening of samples to be tested, and the optical microscopy mode is used for precise observation of samples to be tested. The lensless microscopy assembly includes a first light source, an image sensor, and an image signal processor connected to the image sensor; In the lensless microscopy mode, the first light source and the image sensor are respectively located on both sides of the sample to be tested on the stage. When the light emitted by the first light source passes through the sample to be tested on the stage, the image sensor receives the corresponding light signal and converts it into an electrical signal. The image signal processor converts the electrical signal into an interference or diffraction image, and restores the interference or diffraction image to a directly observable image of the sample to be tested.

2. The dual-mode microscope according to claim 1, characterized in that The image sensor is a CMOS or CCD image sensor; And / or, the first light source is a single light source or an array light source or a multi-height displacement light source, and the first light source is an LED light source or a laser light source.

3. The dual-mode microscope according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The optical microscope assembly includes a frame, on which a stage is mounted, the stage including a transparent support portion for carrying a sample to be tested or the stage including a light hole through which the sample to be tested can be fully exposed, an objective lens converter including multiple objective lenses, a lens barrel, and an eyepiece are sequentially mounted on the frame above the stage, and an aperture and a second light source are mounted on the frame below the stage from top to bottom; The first light source in the lensless microscopy replaces an objective lens on the nosepiece, or the first light source in the lensless microscopy is placed above the sample to be measured in an independent form.

4. The dual-mode microscope according to claim 3, characterized in that The image sensor and the stage are movable relative to each other; in the lensless microscopy mode, when the first light source is switched above the sample to be measured, the image sensor is located below the stage; In optical microscope mode, the image sensor is moved away from under the stage when the objective lens is switched over the sample to be measured.

5. The dual-mode microscope according to claim 4, characterized in that: The image sensor and the stage are connected relative to each other by sliding connection, rotating connection or detachable connection.

6. The dual-mode microscope according to claim 5, characterized in that: The image sensor is connected below the stage in a pulling manner.

7. A special component for a dual-mode microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The specialized assembly is a lensless microscopy assembly, comprising: a first light source, an image sensor, and an image signal processor connected to the image sensor; The image sensor is provided with a stage connecting piece; The first light source is provided with a connector for connecting to the objective lens converter of the optical microscope, or the first light source is provided with a connector for connecting to other parts of the optical microscope, so that the first light source can be placed above the sample to be measured in an independent form.

8. The dedicated component for a dual-mode microscope according to claim 7, characterized in that: The stage connection member on the image sensor is a sliding connection member, a rotating connection member, or a detachable connection member; And / or, the image sensor is a CMOS or CCD image sensor; And / or, the first light source is a single light source or an array light source or a multi-height displacement light source, and the first light source is an LED light source or a laser light source.

9. A method for operating a dual-mode microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: include: First, use the lensless microscopy mode to conduct a preliminary observation of the sample in a large field of view; determine the areas that require further observation; Then switch to the optical microscope mode for precise observation of the sample to be tested.

10. Use of the dual-mode microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The applications are: Used for screening of medical sample slices; Or used for industrial sample quality inspection.

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