Cell analysis imaging system and cell analyzer

Abstract

The utility model discloses a cell analysis imaging system and a cell analyzer, and relates to the technical field of cell analysis, the cell analysis imaging system comprises a bearing platform, a lens structure and an imaging device, the bearing platform is used for bearing a cell analysis chip, the lens structure comprises a microscope objective and a second lens group, and the imaging device is used for imaging the microscope objective. The microscope objective is arranged between the second lens group and the bearing table, the focus of the microscope objective is located on the bearing table, a parallel light path is formed between the microscope objective and the second lens group, and a diaphragm piece is arranged on the parallel light path. According to the technical scheme of the utility model, the objective lens and the sleeve lens which are infinitely conjugated are adopted to form a microscopic observation system, and the aperture diaphragm with a specific size is arranged in a parallel light path, so that high-frequency information in the whole imaging system is filtered out, and low-and-medium-frequency information is reserved. The cell boundary is clear, the appearance is good, and calculation and analysis on the cell concentration and size by an analysis algorithm are facilitated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of cell analysis, in particular to a cell analysis imaging system and a cell analyzer. Background Art

[0002] Traditional analytical equipment includes some devices for cellular-level analysis and calculations. For example, cell counting and viability analysis are often required in cell biology research. To ensure the accuracy of subsequent research, the results of cell counting and viability analysis must be highly accurate. Therefore, during the analysis process, appropriate imaging and counting devices are generally required to capture and confirm cell images and counts. Cell counters are typically used to count cells in a sample, and analytical results such as cell viability, concentration, and size are derived from the cell count results. Traditional cell analysis imaging architectures, based on microscopic imaging principles, often utilize large-diameter optical pathways. The system's aperture diaphragm is located within the microscope objective, and the object-side numerical aperture (NA) is determined by the objective lens parameters, resulting in high-resolution images. However, this optical configuration has a common drawback in actual brightfield observation. The resulting images of the cell interior often contain excessive internal cellular details (such as organelles). This can hinder the accuracy of cell size and count calculations using image recognition algorithms, hindering the identification of cell boundaries. Utility Model Content

[0003] The main purpose of this utility model is to propose a cell analysis imaging system and a cell analyzer, which aims to solve the problem that traditional cell imaging systems often produce cell images that include high-frequency detail information inside the cells themselves, which is often confused with the actual cell boundaries when calculating cell size and number, thereby affecting the accuracy of analysis and calculation.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the cell analysis and imaging system proposed in the present invention includes:

[0005] A carrying platform, used for carrying a cell analysis chip;

[0006] a lens structure comprising a microscope objective lens and a second lens group, wherein the microscope objective lens is disposed between the second lens group and the carrier platform, and a focus of the microscope objective lens is located on the carrier platform, a parallel optical path is formed between the microscope objective lens and the second lens group, and an aperture member is disposed on the parallel optical path; and

[0007] An imaging device is provided on a side of the second lens group away from the microscope objective lens, and a focus of the second lens group is located on a focal plane of the imaging device.

[0008] In one embodiment, the cell analysis and imaging system further comprises a light source structure, which is disposed on one side of the carrier platform and is used for illuminating and focusing light onto the carrier platform.

[0009] In one embodiment, the light source structure, the microscope objective lens, the aperture member, the second lens group and the imaging device are all arranged on the same optical axis.

[0010] In one embodiment, the light source structure includes:

[0011] a lamp bead component for emitting white light; and

[0012] The first lens group has positive optical power and is disposed between the lamp bead component and the supporting platform, and is used for focusing light on the supporting platform.

[0013] In one embodiment, the microscope objective lens is configured as an infinitely conjugated microscope objective lens; and / or,

[0014] The lamp beads are configured as LED white light lamp beads.

[0015] In one embodiment, the focal length of the second lens group is f, 175 mm < f < 200 mm, and its focus is located on the focal plane of the imaging device.

[0016] In one embodiment, the light-clearing diameter of the aperture member is d, 5 mm < d < 8 mm, and the aperture number of the entire cell analysis and imaging system is F, 20 < F < 40.

[0017] In one embodiment, the second lens group is configured as one of a tube lens, a doublet lens, and a triplet lens; and\or,

[0018] The first lens group is configured as a plano-convex lens or a doublet lens.

[0019] In one embodiment, the imaging device is configured as an image sensor.

[0020] The present invention also includes a cell analyzer, which includes a cell analysis imaging system, and the cell analysis imaging system includes:

[0021] A carrying platform, used for carrying a cell analysis chip;

[0022] a lens structure comprising a microscope objective lens and a second lens group, wherein the microscope objective lens is disposed between the second lens group and the carrier platform, and a focus of the microscope objective lens is located on the carrier platform, a parallel optical path is formed between the microscope objective lens and the second lens group, and an aperture member is disposed on the parallel optical path; and

[0023] An imaging device is provided on a side of the second lens group away from the microscope objective lens, and a focus of the second lens group is located on a focal plane of the imaging device.

[0024] The technical solution of this utility model utilizes an infinitely conjugate objective lens and a tube lens to form a microscopic observation system. By setting an aperture stop of a specific size in the parallel optical path, the entire imaging system achieves two improvements: first, the F-number of the system is increased, thereby increasing the object-side depth of field; second, the high-frequency information (internal cell details) in the system's modulation transfer function (MTF) is filtered out, while the medium- and low-frequency information (cell outlines) is retained. These two effects make the cell boundaries in the bright-field images captured by this system clear and have a better appearance, which facilitates the analysis algorithm to calculate and analyze cell concentration and size. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of a cell analysis and imaging system provided by the present utility model;

[0027] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the imaging comparison between the cell analysis imaging system and the traditional imaging system, where A is the imaging effect diagram of the traditional imaging system, and B is Figure 1 Imaging effect diagram of the cell analysis imaging system.

[0028] Description of Figure Numbers:

[0029] 100. Cell analysis imaging system; 1. Carrier; 2. Lens structure; 21. Microscope objective; 22. Second lens group; 3. Image sensor; 4. Light source structure; 41. Lamp bead component; 42. First lens group; 5. Aperture component.

[0030] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present invention involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components in a certain specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indications will also change accordingly.

[0033] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present invention, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features limited to "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In addition, if "and / or" or "and / or" appears in the full text, its meaning includes three parallel schemes. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes scheme A, or scheme B, or a scheme in which A and B are satisfied at the same time. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in this field to implement. When the combination of technical solutions is mutually contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0034] Among traditional analytical equipment, some equipment is used for analysis and calculation at the cellular level. For example, in cell biology research, it is usually necessary to analyze the counting and activity of cells. In order to ensure the accuracy of subsequent research, the results of cell counting and activity analysis are required to be very accurate. Therefore, in the process of analysis, it is generally necessary to use corresponding imaging devices and counting devices to collect and confirm cell images and numbers. Usually, a cell counter is used to count cells in the cell sample to be tested, and the cell activity is calculated based on the cell counting results to obtain the cell activity analysis results. Among them, the cell counter adopts a single-channel single-field counting method, and it is necessary to obtain relevant cell images before counting. The traditional cell analysis imaging structure has a common disadvantage during use, that is, the cell image after imaging often includes high-frequency detail information inside the cell itself, which is often confused with the actual cell boundary when calculating the cell size and number, thereby affecting the accuracy of the analysis and calculation.

[0035] The present invention provides a cell analysis and imaging system 100 .

[0036] See also Figures 1 to 2 In one embodiment of the present invention, a microscopic observation system primarily comprises a microscope objective lens 21 and a second lens group 22. During the imaging process, a cell analysis chip must first be placed on a carrier 1. Generally, the carrier 1 is made of a light-transmitting material and has a conventional structure, which will not be described in detail here. Light reflected from the cells passes through the microscope objective lens 21, forming a parallel beam. After passing through an aperture member 5, it is focused by the second lens group 22 and imaged onto the focal plane of an imaging device on one side. In this embodiment, an aperture member 5 with a specific aperture is provided on the parallel optical path between the microscope objective lens 21 and the second lens group 22. Through structural adjustments, it has been found that the aperture member 5 effectively improves the imaging performance of the cell analysis imaging system 100. This is achieved in two ways: first, it increases the aperture number and object-space depth of field of the cell analysis imaging system 100; second, during actual imaging observation, high-frequency information (internal cell details) is filtered out from the system's modulation transfer function (MTF), while mid- and low-frequency information (cell outlines) is retained. The above two effects make the cell boundaries in the bright field images taken by the system clear and have a good visual experience. Especially in the scenarios of cell concentration analysis and size calculation, the clarity of the cell boundaries is the basic guarantee for efficiently distinguishing cells from the background. The relevant structure in this embodiment is conducive to the analysis algorithm to calculate and analyze cell concentration and size, and has good application value.

[0037] The light-transmitting diameter of the aperture member 5 is d, 5 mm < d < 8 mm, and the aperture number of the entire cell analysis and imaging system 100 is F, 20 < F < 40.

[0038] The cell analysis imaging system 100 also includes a light source structure 4, which is arranged on one side of the carrier 1 and is used to illuminate and focus light on the carrier 1. Specifically, the light source structure 4 is arranged on the side of the carrier 1 away from the microscope objective lens 21. During actual imaging, the light source structure 4 first emits white light for illumination, and at the same time focuses the emitted white light on the middle position of the carrier 1, providing sufficient illumination light for the cell analysis chip in the middle position of the carrier 1.

[0039] The light source structure 4 , the microscope objective lens 21 , the aperture member 5 , the second lens group 22 and the imaging device are sequentially arranged on the same optical axis.

[0040] The light source structure 4 includes a lamp bead 41 and a first lens group 42. The lamp bead 41 is located on the side of the carrier 1 away from the microscope objective 21 and can emit white light for illumination. The first lens group 42 has positive optical power and is specifically located between the lamp bead 41 and the carrier 1. The white light emitted by the lamp bead 41 can be converged to a point on the carrier 1 by the first lens group 42, thereby focusing the light and improving the illumination effect on the cell analysis chip.

[0041] The microscope objective lens 21 is configured as an infinitely conjugated microscope objective lens 21 , and the lamp bead 41 is configured as an LED white light lamp bead.

[0042] The focal length of the second lens group 22 is f, 175 mm < f < 200 mm, and its focus is located on the focal plane of the image sensor 3 .

[0043] The second lens group 22 is configured as one of a tube lens, a doublet lens and a triplet lens, and the first lens group 42 is configured as a plano-convex lens or a doublet lens. The structural setting of the entire imaging system can be selected and set for the relevant lens groups according to the actual production data situation.

[0044] The imaging device is configured as an image sensor 3. The relevant light rays converge on the focal plane of the image sensor 3. Through mutual conversion between photoelectricity, image information of each cell on the cell analysis chip is obtained. Since an aperture 5 is provided on the parallel light path in this solution, in actual application, the cell contour information can be retained while filtering out the internal information of the cell. Therefore, the boundaries of each cell are displayed more clearly in the actual imaging image, which is conducive to the analysis of cell concentration and the calculation of cell size.

[0045] This solution also discloses a cell analyzer for analyzing and calculating cell size and concentration. The cell analyzer includes a cell analysis imaging system 100. The relevant contents of the cell imaging system are as described in the above embodiments. Therefore, the cell analyzer includes all the beneficial effects of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0046] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural transformations made using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings under the technical concept of the present invention, or direct / indirect application in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cell analysis imaging system, characterized in that: include: A carrying platform, used for carrying a cell analysis chip; a lens structure comprising a microscope objective lens and a second lens group, wherein the microscope objective lens is disposed between the second lens group and the carrier platform, and a focus of the microscope objective lens is located on the carrier platform, a parallel optical path is formed between the microscope objective lens and the second lens group, and an aperture member is disposed on the parallel optical path; and An imaging device is provided on a side of the second lens group away from the microscope objective lens, and a focus of the second lens group is located on a focal plane of the imaging device.

2. The cell analysis imaging system according to claim 1, wherein: The cell analysis and imaging system further includes a light source structure, which is disposed on one side of the carrier platform and is used for illuminating and focusing light onto the carrier platform.

3. The cell analysis imaging system according to claim 2, wherein: The light source structure, the microscope objective lens, the aperture member, the second lens group and the imaging device are all arranged on the same optical axis.

4. The cell analysis imaging system according to claim 2, wherein: The light source structure comprises: a lamp bead component for emitting white light; and The first lens group has positive optical power and is disposed between the lamp bead component and the supporting platform, and is used for focusing light on the supporting platform.

5. The cell analysis imaging system according to claim 4, wherein: The microscope objective lens is configured as an infinitely conjugated microscope objective lens; and / or, The lamp beads are configured as LED white light lamp beads.

6. The cell analysis imaging system according to claim 1, wherein: The focal length of the second lens group is f, 175mm<f<200mm, and its focus is located on the focal plane of the imaging device.

7. The cell analysis imaging system according to claim 1, wherein: The light-clearing diameter of the aperture member is d, 5mm<d<8mm, and the aperture number of the entire cell analysis and imaging system is F, 20<F<40.

8. The cell analysis imaging system according to claim 4, wherein: The second lens group is configured as one of a tube lens, a doublet lens and a triplet lens; and\or, The first lens group is configured as a plano-convex lens or a doublet lens.

9. The cell analysis imaging system according to claim 1, wherein: The imaging device is configured as an image sensor.

10. A cell analyzer, characterized in that: The method comprises the cell analysis imaging system according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

Images