Dual-Sensor Fluorescence Imaging With Post-Tube-Lens Beamsplitting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fluorescence microscopes face challenges in increasing image throughput due to the use of a single image sensor that captures only one wavelength at a time, and the placement of additional optical components in the infinity space increases cost and introduces aberrations.
Innovation Solution
An imaging system with a tube lens, a first and second image sensor, and a beamsplitter positioned after the tube lens to direct emission light to both sensors, using a dichroic beamsplitter to separate light wavelengths and minimize astigmatism, reducing the need for multiple tube lenses and maintaining high-quality imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single image sensor is used to capture fluorescence emission light, then the device complexity is reduced, but the image throughput is limited because only one wavelength can be imaged at a time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the spectral range into multiple wavelength bands and uses separate image sensors for each band. The beamsplitter separates the emission light into different wavelength components, with each sensor capturing a specific band, enabling parallel imaging of multiple wavelengths simultaneously and thus increasing throughput without requiring a single complex sensor system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spectral dimension by using a beamsplitter to separate wavelengths spatially before they reach the image sensors. This allows multiple wavelengths to be captured simultaneously in different spatial paths, transforming a sequential imaging process into a parallel one and significantly improving throughput
2Productivity
If additional optical components are placed in the infinity space to increase image throughput, then the image quality is maintained, but the device cost increases and aberrations are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the beamsplitter from the infinity space and places it in the post-tube lens optical path. This removes the need for additional tube lenses and other expensive optical components that would be required if the beamsplitter were positioned in the infinity space, thereby reducing device cost while maintaining image quality
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing the beamsplitter before the tube lens (conventional approach), the patent inverts the sequence by positioning it after the tube lens. This reversal eliminates the need for multiple tube lenses and reduces the overall optical path length, lowering cost and minimizing aberrations while achieving the same spectral separation function
3Adaptability or versatility
If additional optical components are placed in the infinity space to separate wavelengths, then multiple wavelengths can be imaged, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the wavelength separation function with the existing post-tube lens optical path by placing a single beamsplitter in that path. This single component performs the spectral separation function that would otherwise require multiple tube lenses and other components, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining versatility
4Adaptability or versatility
If a beamsplitter is placed in the infinity space, then wavelength separation is achieved, but the cost of the instrument increases due to larger tube lens requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the beamsplitter from the infinity space and relocates it to the post-tube lens optical path. This extraction eliminates the need for larger, more expensive tube lenses that would be required to accommodate the beamsplitter in the infinity space, thereby reducing instrument cost while preserving wavelength separation capability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves high-quality, high-throughput imaging by minimizing aberrations and reducing the number of optical components, thereby lowering costs while maintaining image quality.
Implementation Method 1
The beamsplitter is arranged to transmit a first component of the emission light having a first wavelength and to reflect a second component of the emission light having a second wavelength
Implementation Method 2
The first image sensor and the second image sensor are arranged at focal planes of the tube lens
Implementation Method 3
Infinity corrected objectives do not form an image themselves and therefore transmit the light collected from the sample as parallel, collimated beams
Implementation Method 4
Fluorescence microscopes are widely used tools that illuminate fluorescently-tagged or stained targets within a sample to image those targets with the sample
Data Source
AI summary
An imaging system, comprising: a tube lens; a first image sensor; a second image sensor; an objective disposed to direct emission light from a focal plane of the objective to the tube lens. The first image sensor and the second image sensor are arranged at focal planes of the tube lens. A beamsplitter is disposed along a first optical axis between the tube lens and the first image sensor to intercept the path of the emission light. The beamsplitter comprises: an ingress face arranged perpendicular to the first optical axis, a transmission-reflection face arranged oblique to the ingress face and downstream of the ingress face along the first optical axis, wherein the transmission-reflection face is arrange to transmit a first component of the emission light along the first optical axis and reflect a second component of the emission light along a second optical axis, a first egress face arranged downstream of the transmission-reflectance face along the first optical axis, and a second egress face arranged downstream of the transmission reflectance face along the second optical axis. The first egress face is arranged perpendicular to the first optical axis, and the second egress face is arranged perpendicular to the second optical axis.