Telecentric Lens-Array Imaging for 96-Well Cardiac Tissue Screening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current high-throughput assays for cardiotoxicity screening using engineered cardiac tissues (ECTs) are limited by the optical tradeoff among imaging resolution, field of view, and speed, making it difficult to adapt to the industry-standard 96 well-plate format.
Innovation Solution
A novel imaging system utilizing a lens array and telecentric lens configuration to create a mosaic image of 96 well-plate format, enabling high-resolution, wide-field imaging of ECTs with sufficient frame rate and field of view, allowing simultaneous monitoring of contractile forces in multiple ECTs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional optical imaging is used to monitor ECT contractility, then imaging resolution can be maintained, but the field of view and imaging speed are limited, preventing high-throughput screening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the large field of view into multiple smaller regions of interest (ROIs), each corresponding to a well in a 96-well plate. A lens array segments the optical path to capture images of multiple ROIs simultaneously, achieving both high resolution and wide field of view by processing multiple segmented views in parallel
2Measurement precision
If conventional optical imaging is used to monitor ECT contractility, then imaging resolution can be maintained, but imaging speed is limited, preventing simultaneous monitoring of multiple ECTs
Solution Approach 1:
The lens array segments the optical field to capture multiple ROIs in a single exposure, enabling simultaneous imaging of 96 wells at 60 Hz frame rate while maintaining 10 μm resolution, thus achieving high-speed multi-point monitoring without sacrificing measurement precision
3Measurement precision
If sequential imaging with robotic stage control is used to monitor 96 ECTs, then imaging resolution can be maintained, but productivity is reduced due to time-consuming sequential measurement
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the 96-well plate into 96 separate ROIs and uses a lens array to capture all ROIs simultaneously in parallel, achieving full 96-well monitoring at 60 Hz without mechanical stage movement, thus dramatically increasing throughput while maintaining 10 μm imaging resolution
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical robotic stage control system with an optical lens array system. Instead of physically moving the stage to capture each well sequentially, the lens array optically captures all 96 wells simultaneously, eliminating mechanical bottlenecks and achieving high-speed parallel 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
The system achieves high-throughput contractile force monitoring of 96 ECTs with 10 μm resolution, 60 Hz imaging frame rate, and sensitivity of 0.2 μN, compatible with cardiotoxicity screening requirements, and capable of chronic monitoring over 17 days.
Implementation Method 1
A lens array magnifies the spatially separated regions of the image. The lens array produces a mosaic image comprised of magnified subimages of each region
Implementation Method 2
a light source configured to illuminate a plurality of spatially separated regions of a material structure producing a first illumination
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary imaging system is provided. The imaging system includes a light source configured to illuminate a plurality of spatially separated regions of a material structure producing a first illumination. A lens produces an image of the spatially separated regions. A lens array magnifies the spatially separated regions of the image. The lens array produces a mosaic image comprised of magnified subimages of each region spatially separated region. A camera sensor to record the image.