Microplate Imaging with Shallow Depth of Field to Reduce Side Wall Shadows
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional techniques for imaging microplates with multiple wells are inefficient, requiring excessive time to achieve high measurement accuracy and speed, especially when dealing with plates containing hundreds of wells.
Innovation Solution
An imaging apparatus with an illumination member that irradiates light from above the sample plate and an imager member with an optical system having a depth of field of 0.6 mm or less, which reduces the influence of well side wall shadows, allowing for high-speed and high-accuracy imaging of wells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional imaging techniques with larger depth of field are used, then imaging of entire wells is possible, but shadow artifacts from side walls appear and measurement accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the depth of field parameter of the optical system to 0.6mm or less, which fundamentally alters the imaging characteristics to reduce side wall shadow artifacts while maintaining sufficient focus on the well bottom for accurate cell observation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a depth of field that is smaller than the total well depth (0.6mm vs typical 10-20mm well depths), intentionally focusing only on the critical region near the well bottom where cells are located, thereby excluding side wall artifacts from the focused image plane
2Productivity
If imaging of multiple wells is performed using conventional techniques, then comprehensive observation is achieved, but the time required becomes excessively long
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the depth of field parameter to 0.6mm or less, the optical system achieves both high-speed imaging capability and maintained measurement accuracy, resolving the trade-off between speed and precision in multi-well plate imaging
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
This configuration enables rapid and accurate imaging of multiple wells by minimizing the impact of side wall shadows, facilitating efficient detection of specific sections within the culture medium, such as cells or viruses, while maintaining high resolution.
Implementation Method 1
an optical system which focuses the transmitted light upon the imaging element
Implementation Method 2
receives transmitted light which is transmitted to below the sample plate
Data Source
AI summary
As light is allowed to impinge from above a microplate M and an imaging unit 13 (a line sensor 131 and an imaging optical system 132), which moves in a scanning motion along the bottom surface of the microplate M, receives transmitted light, images of wells W formed in the microplate M are captured. The scope of imaging by the line sensor 131 is greater than the diameter of at least one well W, or preferably, encompasses a plurality of wells. When the depth of field of the optical system 132 is 0.6 mm or less, the influence of reflection of side walls of the wells upon the images is reduced.