Microscopy Detector Array with Beam Splitting System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional multi-camera fluorescence microscopy instruments have a large footprint and asymmetric camera layouts, leading to aesthetic issues and space constraints in limited lab settings due to the need for cameras on different sides of the microscope, resulting in complicated and irregular cabling and coolant tube projections.
Innovation Solution
A microscopy instrument design featuring a splitting system with an array of detectors located on one side, where multiple emission channels travel in substantially parallel paths to separate detectors, minimizing the instrument's footprint and improving aesthetics by centralizing cables and coolant tubes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If cameras are located on different sides of the microscope to capture multiple emission channels, then optical optimization and detection capability are improved, but the footprint and device complexity increase due to asymmetric layout and irregular cabling
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple cameras are consolidated onto a single side of the microscope, merging previously distributed camera locations into one centralized detector array. This reduces the footprint by eliminating the need for cameras on multiple sides while maintaining the capability to detect multiple emission channels through the array's multiple detector elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a spatial distribution of cameras around the microscope to a two-dimensional array arrangement on one side. The detector array packs multiple detection elements in a planar configuration, effectively using another dimension (the array plane) to accommodate multiple channels without increasing the microscope's overall footprint.
2Adaptability or versatility
If cameras are located on different sides of the microscope, then each emission channel can be captured independently, but the device complexity and aesthetic quality deteriorate due to complicated cabling and tube projections
Solution Approach 1:
The cabling and coolant tube connections for multiple cameras are merged into a single location on one side of the microscope. Instead of having cables and tubes projecting from multiple different sides, all connections are consolidated to the detector array location, significantly reducing cabling complexity and improving aesthetic quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The detector array segments the detection function into multiple independent detector elements arranged in an array, allowing each emission channel to be captured independently through separate detector elements while maintaining a unified physical location and connection point for all channels.
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 design allows for a compact, aesthetically pleasing microscopy instrument with reduced footprint, enabling easier installation in smaller spaces and maintaining optical efficiency by centralizing detector components and their associated cabling.
Implementation Method 1
A beam composed of two or more separate emission channels travels along an emission path to the splitting system. The splitting system separates the emissions channels so that each emission channel travels along a separate path to one of the detectors in the array of detectors.
Data Source
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AI summary
Microscopy instruments with detectors located on one side of the instruments are disclosed. The microscopy instruments include a splitting system and an array of detectors disposed on one side of the instrument. A beam composed of two or more separate emission channels is separated by the splitting system into two or more beams that travel along separate paths so that each beam reaches a different detector in the array of detectors. Each beam is a different emission channel and the beams are substantially parallel.