GB2225448A

GB2225448A - Exposing a living organism to visible light

Info

Publication number: GB2225448A
Application number: GB8926467A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kei Mori
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-11-24
Filing date: 1989-11-23
Publication date: 1990-05-30
Also published as: GB8926467D0; FI895269A0; DK593189A; KR910008648B1; FR2639213A1; AU4113989A; NL8902874A; CN1042994A; SE8903936L; KR900008269A; DK593189D0; IT1237837B; DE3933482A1; JPH02143162A; IT8922493A0; SE8903936D0

Description

4 4 JAM BMIOASSAYING DEVICE USED WITH LIGHT RADIATION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a bioassaying device f or experimenting with living organisms by exposing them to visible light rays.

The present applicant has previously proposed focusing or the like, to guide them into a f iber optic cable and to transmit them to any place where the light is needed f or illumination or for other purposes as for example, to cultivate plants, chlorella, fish or the like. In the process of doing research, it has been found that the visible light not containing ultraviolet and infrared rays is ef f ective not only to promote the health of persons and prevent people's skin from aging by stimulating the body's life-giving activity but also to noticeably aid in healing gout, neuralgia, bedsores, rheumatism, burn scars. skin diseases, bone fracture scars etc. and in relieving the pain from such diseases.

Furthermore, on the basis of the above-mentioned inventor's discovery, the applicant has previously proposed a light radiating device for radiating visible light containing none of the harmful ultraviolet and infrared rays with the aim of using it for healing various kinds oil diseases, for giving beauty treatments and for promoting health. This device is intended to irradiate the patient's the sun's rays or artificial light rays by using lenses 1, T - 2 skin with the visible-spectrum components of sunlight or artificial light transmitted through a fibre optic cable. The device ensures the safe healing of a disease by filtering out its infrared and ultraviolet rays which are known to be harmful to people. In order to increase the healing effect of the light radiation provided by the device, it is also necessary to vary the light characteristics such as the amount of light, its wavelength components, the light's strength etc. Furthermore, synergism (that is the combined effect) of medication and light radiation must be examined carefully by using animals such as rabbits, mice etc.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bioassaying device for experimenting with living organisms by exposing them to visible light rays.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for exposing a living organism to visible light comprising a region for accommodating an organism, at least one means for directing visible light into said region, and means for reducing the heating effect on the region of light which does not impinge on the organism, wherein said heating effect t - 1 - 3 reducing means comprises light reflecting means for directing away from the region said non-impinging light.

The region is preferably bounded on the side nearest. to said light directing means by a cover plate having a transparent portion or aperture to allow light to enter said region, and said light reflecting means surrounds said transparent portion such that light not entering said region is reflected away from said region. The light reflecting means may comprise light-ref lecting means located at the opposite side of said region to said light directing means for reflecting away from said region light passing through said region to said opposite side.

The apparatus preferably further comprises first sensor means for sensing the illumination intensity of light directed towards said region and adjustment means for adjusting said illumination intensity in response to said first sensor means and the means for adjusting the illumination intensity preferably comprises means for adjusting the distance between said light directing means and said region.

The apparatus advantageously also comprises colour temperature sensor means for sensing the colour 1 A - 4 temperature of light directed towards said region and adjustment means for adjusting said colour temperature in response to said colour temperature sensor means. The apparatus may comprise a plurality of said light directiyg means, said means for adjusting said colour temperature comprising means for separately adjusting the distance between each of said light directing means and said region.

The or each light directing means preferably comprises the light-emitting end of a fibre optic cable, and there may be three such fibre optic cables for emitting respectively predominantly red, green and blue light.

A solar ray collecting means may be in optical communication with said light directing means.

The invention also includes a bioassaying device comprising a transparent base plate and a cover plate having a transparent center portion surrounded by a reflecting peripheral surface, wherein said base plate supports a laboratory dish and said cover plate covers the laboratory dish so as to irradiate a living organism in the dish with light introduced thereinto 9 t is through the transparent portion of the cover plate.

In order that the invention may be well understood, embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompaiying drawings, in which:

Fig,, 1 is a construction view f or explaining an embodiment of the bioassaying device with light radiation according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a view f rom below of the device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view for explaining an embodiment of a light radiating device to be suitably used for the bioassaying light radiation device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view illustrating an embodiment of an automatic solar ray collecting and transmitting device which collects and guides solar rays into fibre optic cables for transmitting the same therethrough to a desired place; Fig. 5 is a principal view for explaining how to guide the desired colour components of light into a fibre optic cable; Fig. 6 is a view showing an example of a solar image focused through a lens.

Fig. 1 is a construction view for explaining an 1.1.1. 2 I 1 4 - 6 embodiment of a bioassaying device according to the present invention. In Fig.1, numeral 1 designates a fiber optic cable for transmitting therethrough solar rays or artificial light rays composed of visible spectrum components (white light) or containing plenty of the red color component, the blue color component or the green color component. The infrared and ultraviolet rays, which are known to be harmful to living organisms, are filtered out. 2 is a transparent base plate, 3 is a laboratory dish made of transparent material for accommodating therein a subject (living organism) 4 to be exposed to visible light rays, 5 is a cover plate which is placed on the laboratory dish and has a transparent or hollow center portion 5a and a peripheral portion with a reflecting surface Sa, and 6 is a reflecting mirror installpd at an angle of inclination under the base plate. The light rays emitted from the lightemitting end of the fiber optic cable 1 pass through the transparent portion Sa of the cover plate 5 and fall on the living body in the dish 3 so as to produce the light reactions of the living organism in the dish. However, if any other factor besides light such as thermal energy should act on the living organism, the experiment might bring about incorrect results since it is impossible to distinguish from each other the light and thermal reactions of the living subject.

The embodimt--nts of the present invention described herein reduce or minimize such confusion. As shown in Fig. 1, the cover element 5, excepting its transparent portion 5a, is constructed entirely of a reflecting surface 5b to minimize - 7 the raising of the temperature of the cover element 5 by the action of light rays emitted f rom the f iber optic cable 1. Furthermore, a reflecting mirror 6 is provided to prevent the temperature of the base plate 2 from rising by reflecting away the light rays transmitted through the dish 3. The transparent portion 5a of the cover element 5, although it is made hollow (i. e. with an open hole) in this embodiment, may be a transparent element integrated into the cover element 5.

Fig.2 is a rear view of the base plate. As is apparent from Fig.2, the light rays reflected by the reflecting mirror 6 can escape without hitting the supporting legs 7 of the base plate 2 so as not to bring heat through the base plate 2 to the living organism 4 in the dish 3.

In Fig.1, 8 is a light energy sensor (illumination photometer) and 9 is a color temperature meter. The light energy sensor 8 detects the intensity of the light to be supplied to the living organism 4 in order to always keep the light radiation energy at an optimum level while the color temperature meter 9 monitors the color temperature of the light to be supplied to the living organism 4 and adjusts the wavelength components of the light so as to always maintain the optimum color temperature of the light. Since every living organism 4 poses its own optimum conditions in relation to the illumination intensity and color temperature of the light radiation, in order to effectively carry out the experiment with the living organism, it is necessary to adjust the illumination - 8 intensity and the color temperature of the light to the optimum values. The illumination intensity (i.e. the light energy intensity) can be adjusted by shifting the -light-emitting end of the fiber optic cable in the direction shown by arrows A. The color temperature of the light can be adjusted by changing the wavelength composition of the light to be introduced into the light- receiving end of the fiber optic cable.

Fig. 3 is a view showing an example of a means for adjusting-the illumination intensity and color temperature of the light radiation. In Fig.3, 10 is a supporting plate (to be considered as an element corresponding to the cover plate 5 shown in Fig.1), 11 are columns vertically installed on the supporting plate 10, 12 is a fixed plate supported by the upper ends of the columns 11, 13 is a moving plate capable of vertically travelling along the columns 11, 14 is a motor for moving the moving plate 13 in the direction indicated by arrows B, 15 is a f eed screw to be rotated by the motor 14 and 16 is a nut being threadably engaged with the feea screw and integrally fixed to the moving plate 13. When the f eed screw 15 is rotated by the motor 14, the nut 16 together with the moving plate 13 moves in the direction indicated by the arrows B. 17 is the light-emitting end of a f iber optic cable, which is secured at the center of the moving plate 13 and 18a, 18b and 18c (18c is not shown) are other fiber optic cable ends, each of which is attached to the moving plate 13 in such a way that it may move in the direction indicated by the arrows C and be rotated in the 1 - 9 direction indicated by the arrows 9. 19a, 19b, 19c (19c is not shown) are arms for supporting respectively the fiber optic cables 18a, 18b and 18c. 20a, 20b and 20c (20c is not shown) are arms for respectively moving the arms 19a, 19b, 19c in the direction indicated by the arrows C and also f or rotating respectively the same arms in the direction indicated by the arrows 9. 21a, 21b and 21c (21c is not shown) are motors for rotating respectively pairs of - the h arms 20a, 19a;, 20b, 19b; and 20c, 19c in the. direction indicated by the arrows 9. 22a, 22b and 22c (22c is not shown) are telescopic arms capable of changing their own length in the direction indicated by the arrows D when they are driven by the motors 21a, 21b and 21c respectively. 23a, 23b and 23c (23c is not shown) are motors for rotating respectively the feed screws 24a, 24b and 24c (24b and 24c are not shown). 25a, 25b and 25c (25b and 25c are not shown) are nuts being threadably engaged with the respective feed screws 24a, 24b and 24c. The light emitted from the fiber optic cable 17. arranged at the center of the moving plate may be, for example, such that the one that corresponds to white-colored sunlight, while the light emitted from the fiber cable 18b contains plenty of the red color component, the light emitted from the fiber optic cable 18b contains plenty of the blue color component and the light emitted from the fiber optic cable contains plenty of the green color component. Accordingly, the total composite light may also be varied in its color, e. g. white, red, blue or green, by adjusting the amount of the light 1 rays from the cables 18a, l8b and 18c. for instance, in this embodiment as shown the light beams from the fiber optic cables 17, 18a, l8b and 18c respectively pass through the transparent portion 10a of the supporting plate 10 and then, in the neighborhood of the subject 28 (to be considered as an element corresponding to the cover plate 4 shown in Fig - 1), they are mixed with each other to f orm a composite % light for irradiating the subject. The illumination intensity and the color temperature of the composite light can be preset to the values suitable for the subject 28. However, whenever the subject 28 is exchanged with another one or any of the test conditions are changed, the preset values of the composite light's illumination intensity and color temperature must be readjusted. Furthermore, even in the case when the same subject is exposed to the light radiation at a constant level of illumination intensity and color temperature, readjustment is also required since both parameters of the light transmitted through each.-fiber'optic cable may be changed in a day and also are dependant upon the weather, for example, the color of sunlight becomes red in the morning and in the evening.

Fig.3 shows an example of the device suitable for carrying out the necessary adjustments of the light radiation system. The light energy strength can be adjusted by moving the moving plate 13 in the direction indicated by arrows B by means of a motor drive 14. However, si.nce the fiber optic cables 18a, 18b and 18c are also moved up or 3 down together with the moving plate 13, the position f or forming a composite light is shifted away from the subject to be irradiated if no additional adjustment is made when the moving plate 13 is adjusted. The motors 21a, 21b and 21c and moving arms 22a, 22b and 22c are adjusted to compensate for the shifting of the above-mentioned cables.

When the moving plate 13 is driven by the motor 14 into vertical movement together with the fiber optic cables, the movement of the arms 22a, 22b and 22c is synchronized while being driven by thpir respective motors 21a, 21b and 21c and in the direction indicated by the arrows D. The movement of each arm is performed by means of a combination of a f eed screw and a f ixed nut. Namely, a feed screw 21a I (21b I, 21c I) to be rotated by the motor 21a (21b, 21c) and a nut 22a' (22b', 22c') secured to the arm 22a (22b, 22c) were previously engaged with each other. The arm 22a can be moved in the direction of the arrows D by the motor 21a through the above-mentioned feeding mechanism.) For instance, when the moving plate 13 is moved upwards, the arm 22a is drawn towards the motor 21a at the same time. When the moving plate 3 is moved downwards, the arm 22a is pushed apart f rom the motor 21a at the same time. The motions of the arm 22a (22b, 23c) are accompanied by the turning motions of the arms 24a and 19a (24b and 19b, 24c and 19c) in the direction of the arrows 9 in relation to the supporting point 26a and the result is that the light rays from the fiber optic cables may be directed to the subjecIt.

In other words, the light rays can be directed onto the X 1 4 subject without changing its color temperature. The adjustment of the color temperature of the light radiation for the subject 28 may be performed as follows:

When the feeding screw 24a (24b, 24c) is rotated by the motor 23a (23b, 23c), the nut 25a (25b, 25c), which is threadably engaged with the feed screw 24a and secured to the moving plate, moves along the length of the feed screw 24a and therefore the arm 19a supporting the fiber optic cable 18a moves in the direction indicated by arrow C so as to adjust the color temperature of the light. The light color temperature can be adjusted, far instance, close to red by putting the fiber optic cable 18a for transmitting the light containing plenty of the red color component closer to the subject 28 and, at the same time, by putting the other fiber optic cables 18b, 18c far from the subject 28. Namely, any desired color temperature of the light may be obtained by adjusting the distances from the subject 28 to the light-emitting ends of the fiber optic cables 18a-18c. Adjusters 27 are provided for adjusting the level of the supporting plate 10 so that the subject placed under the supporting plate 10 may be suitably exposed to the light rays. While in the case of Fig.3 the subject to be exposed to the light irradiation is an animal, but it is not limited to animals and may be any living thing such as a person, a plant, a f ish, a living cell etc. For instance, it is possible to carry out an experiment with a subject placed in a laboratory dish (such as is shown in Fig.1) under the supporting plate 10.

1 Figure 4 is a construction view for explaining, by way of example, a solar ray collecting device f or guiding the sunlight into the af orementioned f iber optic cable 1. As shown in Fig.4, the solar ray collecting device comprises a transparent protection capsule 30, Fresnel lenses 31, lens holders 32, a solar position sensor 33, fiber optic cables composed of a large number of optical fibers 34 (hereinafter called "light guide"), optic cable holders 35, an arm 36, a pulse motor 37, a horizontal revolving shaft 38 to be driven by the pulse motor 37, a base 39 for supporting the protective capsule 30, a pulse motor 40 and a vertical revolution shaft 41 to be driven by the pulse motor 40.

The direction of the sun is detected by means of the solar position sensor 33 and its detection signal controls the pulse motors 37 and 40 for rotating respectively the horizontal shaft 38 and the vertical shaft 41 so as to always direct the lenses 31 toward the sun, and the sunlight focused by each lens 31 is guided into.each optic cable 34 through its ena-surface slet at the focal point of the lens. The optic cable 34 from the lenses 31 are bundled together as one cable 1 which is drawn from the solar collecting device and then is led to any desired place wherein the light rays are used for bioassaying as regards the reaction of the living organism to light.

Figure 5 is a view f or explaining how to guide the solar rays into an optic cable. In Fig. 5, 31 is a Fresnel lens or the like and 34 is an optic cable for receiving the solar rays f ocused by the lens 31 and to transmit the same therethrough to any desired place where the light is needed. In case of focusing the sunlight through the lens system, the solar image, as shown in Fig. 6, has a central portion A consisting of almost white light and a circumferential portion B containing therein a large amount of the light components having wavelengths corresponding to the focal point of the lens system. Namely, in the case of focusing sunlight through the lens system, the f ocal point and the size of the solar image will vary in accordance with the component wavelengths of the light. For instance, the blue color light having a short wavelength makes a solar image of diameter D1 at position P1. light makes a solar image of the red color light makes a position P3. Consequently, light-receiving end-surf ace position P1, it is possible Furthermore, the green color diameter D2 at position P2 and solar image of diameter D3 at as shown in Fig. 5, when the of the light guide is set at to collect sunlight containing plenty of the blue color component at the circumferential portion thereof. When the light-receiving end-surf ace of the light guide is set at position P2, it is possible to collect the sunlight containing plenty of the green color component at the circumferential portion thereof. When the light-receiving end-surface of the optic cable is set at position P3 it is possible to collect sunlight containing plenty of the red color component at the circumferential portion thereof. In each case, the diameter of the optic cable can be selected in accordance with the light components to be collected. For instance, the required diameters of the f iber optic cables are Dl, D2 and D3, respectively, depending on the colors of the light rays to be stressed, i. e. blue, green or red. In such a way, the required amount of the fiber optic cable can be saved and thereby the sunlight containing therein plenty of the desired color components can be collected most effectively. And further, as shown in Fig.4, if the diameter of the light-receiving end-surface of the fiber optic cable is enlarged to DO, it may be possible to collect visjible light containing therein all of its wavelength components.

The optic cable may be pre-fixed at their light-receiving ends at the corresponding focusing positions of the respective lenses in the solar ray collecting device at the manufacturer, or may be movably -fixed in the solar ray collecting device so that the positions of their lightreceiving ends can be additionally adjusted by the user in the axial direction of the lenses according to the desired colors of the light to be used. In case of the embodiment shown in Fig.1, the light-receiving ends of the light guides in the solar collecting device can be adjusted according to the output signal of the color temperature sensor 9.

As is apparent from the foregoing description, according to the present invention, it may be possible to provide a bioassaying device with visible light radiation, which is capable of irradiating the living subject with light by changing its energy intensity and/or color temperature or be at fixed values of energy intensity and/or

1 - 16 color temperature and, thereby, effectively perform experiments concerning their reactions to light.

I it can precisely and with living subjects 1 ---:

V7

Claims

CLAIMS:

is 1. An apparatus for exposing a living organism to visible light comprising a region for accommodating an organism, at least one means for directing visible light into said region, and means for reducing the heating effect on the region of light which does not impinge on the organism, wherein said heating effect reducin means comprises light reflecting means for directing away from the region said non-impinging light.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said region is bounded on the side nearest to said light directing means by a cover plate having a transparent portion or aperture to allow light to enter said region, and said light reflecting means surrounds said transparent portion such that light not entering said region is reflected away from said region.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said light reflecting means comprises light reflecting means located at the opposite side of said region to said light directing means for reflecting away from said region light passing through said region to said opposite side.

1 1.
4 1 rs 4. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising first sensor means f or sensing the illumination intensity of light directed towards said region and adjustment means for adjusting said illumination intensity in response to said first sensor means.
5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said means for adjusting said illumination intensity comprises means for adjusting the distance between said light directing means and said region.
6. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising colour temperature sensor means for sensing the colour temperature of light directed towards said region and adjustment means for adjusting said colour temperature in response to said colour temperature sensor means.
7. An apparatus according to claim 6, comprising a plurality of said light directing means and wherein said means for adjusting said colour temperature comprises means for separately adjusting the distance between each of said light directing means and said region.

11
8. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the or each light directing means comprises the light-emitting end of a fibre optic cable.
An,, apparatus according to claim 8, wherein there are thre such fibre optic cables for emitting respectively predominantly red, green and blue light.
10. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising solar ray collecting means in optical communication with said light directing means.
11. A bioassaying device comprising a transparent base plate and a cover plate having a transparent center portion surrounded by a reflecting peripheral surface, wherein said base plate supports a laboratory dish and said cover plate covers the laboratory dish so as to irradiate a living organism in the dish with light introduced thereinto through the transparent portion of the cover plate.
12. A bioassaying device according to claim 11, wherein an illumination intensity sensor and/or a 62 c) colour temperature sensor are/is provided on the cover plate's surface so as to make it possible to monitor and/or to adjust the illumination intensity and/or the colour temperature of the light to be supplied to a 5 living organism.
13. A 1. bioassaying device according to claim 12. wherein a f ibre optic cable is provided for supplying the light therethrough to the living organism and a means is provided for adjusting the distance between a living organism in the laboratory dish and the lightemitting end of the fibre optic cable so as to adjust the illumination intensity of the light to be supplied through the fibre optic cable to the living organism in the laboratory dish.
14. A bioassaying device according to claims 11, 12 or 13, wherein at least three fibre optic cables are used in such a way that one of said cables supplies the light containing much of the red colour component, another one supplies the light containing plenty of the blue colour component and another one supplies the light containing plenty of the green colour component while each of said cables has a light-emitting end that is movable in order to change the distance from the living organism in the dish and in order to adjust 1 1.( cat the colour temperature of the light to be supplied therethrough to the living organism.
15. An apparatus f or exposing a living organism to visible light, substantially as herein described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

1 Published 1990 at The Patent Office. State House 6C 71 High Holborri. Lcndcr.WC1R4TP Further ecplesmkv be obtained from The Patent Office Sales Branch, St Ma-,y Crky. Orpington. Hent BR5 3RD Printed by A,-itiplex techniques ltd --. Mary Cray. Kent. Cen 1 87