Microscope Slide Spacers with Optical Focal References
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cytological samples often have low cell concentrations and dispersed cells, making it challenging to view and analyze them effectively through a microscope due to difficulties in focusing on the cells.
Innovation Solution
The use of spacers with optical focal references on microscope slides, which include a spacer body with a central opening and a thickness of about 20 μm or less, providing an optical focal reference for the microscope to focus on the cytological sample, and can be made of translucent materials with discrete focal features like pigments or biological materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional microscope slides are used without spacers, then the device complexity is low, but the measurement precision for focusing on dispersed cells deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer acts as an intermediary element between the microscope slide and the cells, providing a physical reference structure that mediates the focusing process. The spacer's known thickness and optical properties serve as a mediator to establish the correct focal plane, solving the focusing precision problem without requiring complex automated focusing systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer is pre-positioned on the microscope slide before sample preparation, establishing the focal reference in advance. This preliminary action allows the microscope to be focused on the spacer's top surface beforehand, ensuring that subsequent sample placement occurs at the correct focal plane, thereby improving measurement precision without adding operational complexity.
2Measurement precision
If spacers with thickness of 20 μm or less are used, then the measurement precision for cell visualization is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer thickness parameter is optimized to be 20 μm or less, which corresponds to the typical depth of field requirements for visualizing dispersed cells. This parameter change improves cell visualization precision by ensuring the entire sample depth remains within the focal range, while the specific value is chosen to balance manufacturing feasibility with optical performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer provides localized optical reference quality at the microscope slide surface, creating a focal reference zone with precise optical properties. This local quality improvement allows accurate focusing in the critical sample area without requiring uniform high-precision manufacturing across the entire slide, thereby reducing overall manufacturing precision requirements.
3Ease of operation
If spacers with discrete focal features are used, then the ease of operation for focusing is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer incorporates discrete focal features with distinct optical properties, such as pigments or refractive index variations, that create visible contrast or optical signals. These color or optical changes provide clear visual markers for the microscope operator to identify and focus on the correct focal plane, significantly improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer is designed with segmented or discrete focal features rather than a uniform structure. These segmented features (such as multiple reference points or distinct optical zones) provide multiple focal references that can be independently used for focusing, making the operation easier while keeping each individual feature simple in structure.
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
Facilitates improved analysis of cytological samples by enabling precise focusing on cells within the sample, allowing for better visualization and image capture, especially in samples with low cell concentrations and dispersed cells.
Implementation Method 1
The spacer body may include a material configured to provide an optical focal reference for a microscope
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed spacers for microscope slides may include a spacer body including a material configured to provide an optical focal reference for a microscope and a central opening in the spacer body sized and shaped to receive a cytological sample. The spacer body may have a thickness of about 20 μm or less. Methods of analyzing cytological samples may include disposing a cytological sample on a microscope slide adjacent to a spacer positioned on the microscope slide, focusing an optical module of a microscope to a focal plane using at least a portion of the spacer as a focal reference, and viewing the cytological sample through the optical module of the microscope at the focal plane. Various other related methods, systems, and devices are also disclosed.