KR20060018613A - Dna scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention can reduce the cost, achieve stable performance, easily select the light source, solve the thermal problem resulting from the high-power lamp, reduce the time taken to read information from the gene chip, and provide a high voltage power supply. It is an object of the present invention to provide a genetic reader that can solve the electrical noise problem of use. In order to achieve the object of the present invention, in the present invention, a stage on which a gene chip coated with a fluorescent material is placed; A laser light source for irradiating light of a specific wavelength to the gene chip; And a CCD camera which receives light emitted from the laser light source, detects fluorescence expressed in the fluorescent material, and converts the detected light into a digital signal for image processing, wherein the light emitted from the laser light source is the gene on the stage. The laser light source and the stage may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance to form a predetermined effective illumination area on a chip, or a gene reader may be provided to form the effective illumination area with uniform light intensity using a separate illumination optical system.

Description

Genetic Scanner {DNA scanner}

1 is a view showing the configuration of a conventional gene reader.

2 shows another example of a conventional gene reader.

3 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

1, 100: laser light source 3: gene chip

4: stage 5: imaging optical system

6: CCD camera 7, 407: first input side lens

8: Glass Rod 9, 409: Second Input Side Lens

102, 202, 302, 402, 502: illumination optical system

308: optical fiber 309: input side lens

408: fly's eye lens 602: beam splitter

The present invention relates to a gene reader and a method for reading a gene chip using the same, and more particularly, to a gene reader used to determine the presence or absence of a disease of a living organism by reading and analyzing a gene sample.

In vitro diagnostic systems for diagnosing various diseases and genetic diseases by reading and analyzing the gene chips obtained from the human body are rapidly spreading. As a type of in vitro diagnostic system, a gene reader is increasingly used as a device for scanning a gene chip and analyzing fluorescence emitted from the chip to read and analyze genes. In general, the wavelength of the fluorescence generated by illuminating a specific wavelength of light to the fluorescent material emits light of a wavelength longer than the wavelength of the illumination light. Therefore, it is important to configure the gene reader to use a suitable light source for causing the fluorescent material to fluoresce and to detect only light corresponding to the wavelength of the fluorescence.

The optical system configuration used for the gene reader is divided into two types. The first method uses a laser as a light source, and the second method uses a white light as a light source. In the case of using a laser as a light source, a photo multiplier tube (PMT) is used as a light detector, and the image is collected by condensing on a gene chip and illuminating it, and scanning a sample on an area to obtain an image. Get As an example of using white light as a light source, which is the second method, US Patent No. 6,140, l53 and Korean Patent No. 371,560 will be described.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a gene reader disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,140, l53.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gene reader disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,140, l53 uses a CCD-Charge-Coupled Device camera as a preferred embodiment of an array detector 18. As a source 20, a lamp that emits white light is used. In addition, a heat filter for removing the heat of light from the lamp including the reflector 22, an input filter for transmitting only light of a selected wavelength, and the position of the gene chip It is provided with illumination optics consisting of a concave mirror 32 for illumination. In addition, an output filter 42 for passing only fluorescence emitted from the gene chip and imaging lenses 38 and 40 for forming an image on a CCD camera are provided.

The uniformity of illumination light illuminating the gene chip in the gene reader plays an important role in reading and analyzing the images obtained from the gene chip. However, since the uniformity of the light emitted from the lamp is very bad, there is a disadvantage that another means is required to obtain the desired illumination uniformity.

Another example of using white light as a light source is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 371,560.

2 is a view showing the configuration of the gene reader disclosed in Korean Patent No. 371,560.

As shown in FIG. 2, the gene reader disclosed in Korean Patent No. 371,560 is a lamp, which is a light source unit 12 disposed at an acute angle to a sample having a gene chip, and an incident light adjusting lens for adjusting the amount and focus of light emitted from the lamp. 13a, an incident light filter 13b for passing only light in a wavelength band emitting light of a fluorescent material among the light passing through the incident light adjusting lens 13a on a slide, and a reflected light filter 16a for passing light only in a light emitting wavelength range of a fluorescent material; And a reflection light adjusting lens 16b for concentrating the light passing through the reflection light filter 16a and a CCD camera 17 for detecting the reflected light. Such a gene reader may be regarded as replacing the concave mirror with an incident light control lens in US Patent No. 6,140,153 described above.

By the way, the incident light adjusting lens is for adjusting the amount and focus of the light emitted from the lamp, it is difficult to obtain the uniformity of light without a separate device. Therefore, if the desired optical uniformity is not obtained, it is a problem in the quality of the obtained image, which makes it difficult to obtain accurate information of the gene chip.

In the foregoing patents, PMT is used as a photodetector when a light source is used as a laser, and a CCD camera is used as a photodetector when a light source is used as white light. In addition, in the case of the combination of laser and PMT, the illumination light is focused on the sample, and the fluorescence generated accordingly is illuminated by a CCD camera to illuminate a certain area to obtain an image and to simultaneously detect the fluorescence generated in a desired area. Detect. In this case, however, light of a specific wavelength must be irradiated to excite the gene chip used as a sample, and for this purpose, a filter for obtaining light of a specific wavelength must be included in the illumination optical system. Also, after the illumination light passes through the filter, it should not include the wavelength of fluorescence expressed in the sample. Therefore, designing and manufacturing such a filter requires a high level of technology, which increases the manufacturing cost of the equipment.

The technology of using laser as a light source and PMT as a photodetector can take advantage of the short wavelength characteristics of the laser, so there is no need to use a filter for selecting light of a specific wavelength in the construction of the illumination optical system. Because of using, it has a configuration that focuses the illumination light on the sample and scans as much as the desired area. Such systems require a high level of skill in the instruments and controls for scanning to obtain uniform two-dimensional images. As a simple example, if the scan speed is not controlled constantly, it is difficult to obtain a good image due to uneven light intensity detected by the PMT. In addition, the intensity distribution of the focused light has a Gaussian distribution, which is the most common intensity distribution of the laser. Therefore, the uniform intensity distribution can be obtained to some extent through the speed control in the scan direction, but the unevenness due to stitching is overcome in the direction perpendicular to the scan direction even if the precise position control is performed according to the characteristics of the light of the Gaussian distribution. There are considerable technical difficulties in this. In addition, as each dot is connected to form an image through scanning, it takes a long time compared to capturing the image at once using a CCD camera. This means that it takes a long time to get information from the gene chip.

In addition, the use of a PMT requires a high voltage power supply for driving the PMT. This can adversely affect the various electronic circuits inside the equipment due to the noise generated by the high voltage. Because of this, there is a problem that the power supply is separated and installed outside the equipment.

The gene reader should basically irradiate light on the gene chip with the wavelength of fluorescence, and the light of the wavelength expressed from the sample should not be included in the illumination light. This is because the light detected by the photodetector should only detect the light expressed in the sample, and all other light is optical noise. From this point of view, the biggest drawback of a gene reader consisting of white light and a CCD camera is that white light contained all wavelengths of light, unlike lasers. Therefore, an optical filter should be used to ensure that only a specific wavelength of light is irradiated onto the sample. In particular, the wavelength of the sample shall be completely removed and at the same time designed to maximize the transmittance of the light of the specific wavelength required to express the sample in order to increase the efficiency of the illumination light. This requires advanced filter design and fabrication techniques. In addition, a filter must be added at the front of the CCD camera to transmit only the light having the wavelength of light expressed in the sample. In this case, when using a laser as a light source, a high pass filter is required due to the short wavelength characteristics of the laser.However, in the case of using white light, a filter must be designed and manufactured in conjunction with a filter used in an illumination optical system. There is difficulty. In other words, a gene reader that combines white light and a CCD camera becomes an important variable in which the design and fabrication technology of the filter determines the performance of the entire system. In addition, in the case of white light, a high power lamp is used, which causes heat generation, which requires various complicated cooling systems, and the lamp has a shorter lifespan than a laser, which requires frequent replacement. In addition, the light emission characteristics of the lamp add difficulty to the design of the illumination optical system.

The present invention to solve the above problems, to reduce the cost of frequent replacement of the light source, and to solve the problems caused by the change in the light intensity due to frequent replacement, the object of the present invention to provide a stable performance of the gene reader do. It is also an object of the present invention to simplify the configuration of the illumination optical system and to solve the cost increase problem that occurs when a complicated illumination optical system is used.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a gene reader capable of smoothly and quickly selecting a light source by using various phosphors, and to solve the heat problem resulting from a high-power lamp generated when white light is used. .

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a gene reader that can shorten the time it takes to read information from a gene chip, and can solve the electrical noise problem by using a high voltage power supply device.

An object of the present invention as described above, the stage in which the gene chip coated with a fluorescent material is placed; A laser light source for irradiating light of a specific wavelength to the gene chip; A CCD camera which receives the light irradiated from the laser light source and detects the fluorescence expressed in the fluorescent material and converts it into a digital signal for image processing; And illumination optics for uniformly diffusing light such that light from the laser light source uniformly illuminates a predetermined region on the gene chip.

The illumination optical system may include a glass rod arranged in parallel with a traveling direction of light emitted from the laser light source and diffused by total reflection as light passes, and light uniformly diffused while being reflected inside the glass rod. It is preferable to include an input side lens for illuminating at a constant size above.

Here, the stage driving unit for transferring the gene chip placed on the stage to a desired position; An output filter disposed between the stage and the CCD camera to transmit only fluorescence expressed in the gene chip coated with a fluorescent material; An imaging lens disposed between the stage and the CCD camera to form an image of the fluorescence expressed in the gene chip on the CCD camera; And an image data processing unit for reading the image digital data obtained by the CCD camera.

On the other hand, the illumination optical system may include an optical fiber. In this case, the illumination optical system may further include an input side lens for illuminating the light uniformly diffused on the gene chip while being reflected inside the optical fiber.

On the other hand, the illumination optical system, the first input side lens for diffusing the light emitted from the laser light source; A fly's eye lens which makes the intensity distribution of light passing through the first input side lens uniform; And a second input side lens that illuminates light passing through the fly's eye lens in a predetermined effective illumination region. In this case, the illumination optical system may include a beam expander that makes the intensity distribution of the light irradiated from the laser light source uniform, or may include a collimator that makes the intensity distribution of the light irradiated from the laser light source uniform.

Meanwhile, the laser light source may include the plurality of laser beam sources, and a beam splitter for collecting the paths of the laser beams emitted from the plurality of laser beam sources into one may be arranged between the laser light source and the illumination optical system. have.

Here, the plurality of laser beam sources preferably further include shutters for emitting light of different wavelengths and selectively operating the plurality of laser beam sources.

On the other hand, the CCD camera forms a plurality of images of the fluorescence expressed in the gene chip for each effective lighting region, and the image data processor connects the plurality of fluorescence images formed in the CCD camera to each other, thereby fluorescence images of the entire gene chip. It is desirable to edit it.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a view showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gene reader according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a laser light source 1, an illumination optical system 102 for improving the light uniformity of light emitted from the laser light source 1, and a gene chip ( A stage 4 on which 3) is placed, an imaging optical system 5 for transmitting only fluorescence expressed in the gene chip, and a CCD camera 6 functioning as a photodetector.

Light from the laser light source 1 illuminates the gene chip 3 via an illumination optical system 102. In this case, the illumination optical system 102 illuminating the gene chip 3 should make the light intensity uniform and illuminate the gene chip 3. Therefore, the illumination optical system should function to uniform the intensity distribution of the illumination light. Light of a specific wavelength emitted from the laser light source 1 is turned into illumination of a uniform intensity distribution through the illumination optical system 102 to illuminate the gene chip 3. The illumination optical system 102 may be configured as a combination of a concave lens for diffusing a laser beam and a convex lens for straightening the light diffused from the concave lens back in the original direction.

In the gene chip 3, fluorescence is expressed by a fluorescent material applied in advance, which is light of a wavelength different from that of illuminated light. This is collected by the lens of the CCD camera 6 and imaged on the CCD. In addition, since the intensity of the light is significantly lower than the intensity of the illumination light, the illumination light of very weak intensity should not be incident on the CCD through the lens of the CCD camera 6. Therefore, a filter is placed between the lens of the CCD camera 6 and the CCD or between the lens of the CCD camera 6 and the stage 4 on which the gene chip 3 is placed so as to configure the system so that only light having a desired wavelength passes. The filter constitutes the imaging optical system 5 and may be a low pass filter that passes only light having a low wavelength. The formed image includes different information according to the intensity distribution of fluorescence expressed in the gene chip 3, and the desired information is obtained through a statistical process.

In general, the planar area of the gene chip 3 is wider than the field of view (FOV) of light passing from the laser light source 1 and passing through the illumination optical system 102, so that the FOV can be obtained in order to obtain information of the entire area of the gene chip 3. The image of the area corresponding to the image is obtained, and then, the image of the adjacent area is sequentially obtained and combined through the stitching process to obtain the image of the entire area. To this end, the stage 4 on which the gene chip 3 is placed must be precisely controlled so that the light from the laser light source 1 can sequentially scan the entire area of the gene chip 30. The image of the entire area thus obtained From the statistical process to obtain information on the gene chip (3), through which to diagnose the presence or absence of the disease.

Meanwhile, while the gene reader according to the first embodiment of the present invention has been described above, only the configuration including the illumination optical system 102 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, one of the characteristics of the laser beam is straight, but if the divergence angle is small compared to the natural light, and the laser beam also has a long path, the light has a divergence angle and the light spreads to illuminate a wide area. Therefore, even in the case of a laser used as illumination light in the gene reader, maintaining the proper distance between the gene chip 3 and the laser light source 1 can obtain the required uniformity in the effective illumination region. Therefore, the illumination optical system may be omitted and the distance between the gene chip 3 and the laser light source 1 may be adjusted to configure a gene reader having a desired performance.

4 is a view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the gene reader according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a laser light rod 1 and a laser glass rod to improve light uniformity of light emitted from the laser light source 1. Illumination optical system 202 including 8), stage 4 on which gene chip 3 is placed, and CCD camera 6 functioning as a photodetector.

As shown in FIG. 4, the illumination optical system 202 includes a first input side lens 7, a glass rod 8 and a second input side lens 9. The laser glass rod 8 allows the laser beam passing through the inside to become a uniform light beam through total internal reflection in the glass rod 8. Light emitted from the laser light source 1 is focused by the first input side lens 7 and is incident on the glass rod 8. When the incident light is mixed with each other through total internal reflection and exits the glass rod 6, the light distribution becomes uniform. This distribution of light is shaped into illumination light of a desired size through the second input side lens 9 to illuminate the gene chip 3. Fluorescence expressed in the gene chip 3 by the uniform illumination light is collected by the lens and the CCD camera 6, converted into a digital image signal, and stored in an external storage medium (not shown). The stored image is statistically processed to obtain genetic information stored in DNA.

The glass rod 8 may be polygonal or circular in cross-sectional shape, and the side surface is formed of a mirror surface to allow total internal reflection. Preferably the inner wall consists of a rectangular cross section consisting of a mirror. In addition, the matters related to the imaging optical system 5 are the same as in the first embodiment.

5 is a view showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the gene reader according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a laser light source 1 and an optical fiber 308 to improve light uniformity of light emitted from the laser light source 1. Is provided with an illumination optical system 302, a stage 4 on which the gene chip 3 is placed, and a CCD camera 6 functioning as a photodetector.

The illumination optical system 302 may be composed of an optical fiber 308 and an input side lens 309. The light projected onto the optical fiber 308 coupled with the laser light source 1 is mixed in various forms through total internal reflection within the optical fiber 308 to produce a uniform distribution of light. This principle is the same as total internal reflection in the glass rod 8 described in the foregoing second embodiment. Light from the optical fiber 308 may directly illuminate the gene chip 3, or may be focused in a region of the gene chip 3 by the input lens 309.

The optical fiber 308 may be directly coupled to the laser light source 1, or a separate convex lens is disposed between the laser light source 1 and the optical fiber 308 to the optical fiber 308. The laser beam may be focused and incident. On the other hand, the optical fiber 308 may have a single core, or a plurality of optical fibers may be made of a bundle. Other matters are the same as in the first and second embodiments.

6 is a view showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the gene reader according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention includes a laser light source 1 and a fly's eye lens to improve light uniformity of light emitted from the laser light source 1. An illumination optical system 402 including a) 408, a stage 4 on which the gene chip 3 is placed, and a CCD camera 6 functioning as a photodetector.

The illumination optical system 402 includes a first input side lens 407, a fly's eye lens 408, and a second input side lens 409. Light emitted from the laser light source 1 is incident on the fly's eye lens 408 via the first input side lens 407 and is collected by the second input side lens 409 at a rear end thereof, so that the gene chip 3 is separated. Illuminate. The fly's eye lens 408 is composed of a plurality of micro lenses each having a rectangular cross-sectional shape, and the direction of the long side of the micro lens corresponds to the arrangement direction of the focal point of the light source. Accordingly, the effective light source formed by the fly's eye lens is irradiated to the fly's eye lens in two different directions from the light source and the focus, and has an intensity distribution characterized in that a pair of the light sources are formed by each micro lens. . Thus, the difference between the intensity distribution in the X direction and the Y direction becomes smaller than in the conventional effective light source, and serves to improve the uniformity of light emitted from the light source.

Other matters are the same as in the first to third embodiments described above.

7 is a view showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the gene reader according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention includes a laser expander 502 to improve the light uniformity of the light emitted from the laser light source 1 and the laser light source 1. ), A stage 4 on which the gene chip 3 is placed, and a CCD camera 6 functioning as a photodetector.

The light emitted from the laser light source 1 is enlarged and uniformed by the beam expander 502 to illuminate the gene chip 3. The beam expander 508 is an optical device that expands the diameter of the laser beam by combining optical components, and the beam expander 502 causes the laser beam having a small diameter to diverge once into a concave lens. Focus again with convex lenses and collimate. Therefore, the beam expander can be basically manufactured by combining two concave lenses and two convex lenses side by side, and the lens position must be adjusted so that parallel light is emitted.

The other matters are the same as in the first to fourth embodiments described above.

Meanwhile, instead of using the beam expander 2, a collimator may be used, and various types of merchandise may be applied to the beam expander or collimator.

Phosphors that can be used in common in the various embodiments described above may be applied to various phosphors as needed, and different kinds of light sources having unique wavelengths corresponding to each phosphor should be used. When used as a white light source light source, it is possible to respond to a single light source by replacing the filter to select the desired wavelength. However, in a system using a laser as a light source, this is not possible due to the short wavelength characteristics of the laser. When the type of phosphor is changed, another laser having a specific wavelength must be used as the light source. In this case, it may be necessary to configure the illumination optical system with a plurality of lasers and to design a structure capable of selecting a desired wavelength as needed.

8 is a view showing the configuration of a gene reader according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the gene reader according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention may combine a plurality of light sources 1 and 100 and light emitted from the light sources 1 and 100 into one and proceed in the same path. A beam splitter 602, an illumination optical system (not shown) that improves the light uniformity of light emitted from the light sources 1 and 100, a stage 4 on which the gene chip 3 is placed, and a photodetector. A functioning CCD camera 6 is provided.

8 illustrates a case where two light sources 1 and 100 are used, but a configuration using two or more light sources is also possible. Light from each laser light source 1, 100 is integrated into one as it passes through the beam splitter 602. And the selection of the light source can be made using a mechanical or electronic shutter (not shown). That is, a light source of a desired wavelength is selected with a shutter. The subsequent illumination optics configuration can apply the same methods described above. That is, FIG. 8 shows an example in which the glass rod 8 is applied to the illumination optical system 202. However, in addition to the gene reader using the beam splitter 602, illumination using an optical fiber, a fly's eye lens, a beam expander or a collimator is applied. An optical system can be used.

Hereinafter, a method of reading gene information from a gene chip using the gene reader of the various embodiments described above will be described.

The method of reading a gene chip according to the present invention includes the steps of: (a) applying a fluorescent material to a gene chip from which DNA is collected; (b) uniformly diffusing light so as to uniformly illuminate a laser beam having a wavelength that reacts with the fluorescent material to express fluorescence on the gene chip in a predetermined region on the gene chip; (c) imaging the fluorescence expressed in the gene chip on a CCD camera and converting the image of the fluorescence into digital data; And (d) calculating and processing the digital data converted in step (c).

The step (b) is to adjust the distance between the laser light source and the gene chip so that the laser light is diffused to a predetermined effective illumination area, or to configure a separate illumination optical system so that the laser light is diffused to a predetermined effective illumination area. do.

On the other hand, the step (b), using a plurality of laser beam sources, using a beam splitter that aggregates the path of laser beams emitted from the plurality of laser beam sources, and selectively operating the plurality of laser beam sources It selectively illuminates the light of the required wavelength.

Step (c) blocks the light from the light source and transmits only the fluorescence expressed in the gene chip to which the fluorescent material is applied so as to form an image on the CCD camera.

In the step (d), the fluorescence image of the entire gene chip is formed by imaging a plurality of images of fluorescence expressed by the gene chip in the CCD camera for each effective lighting region, and connecting the plurality of fluorescence images formed by the CCD camera to each other. It will further comprise the step of editing.

As described above, according to the present invention, since it employs an illumination optical system composed of various components for using the laser light source and improving the uniformity of the laser beam emitted from the laser light source, it has the following advantages. . First, since the lifespan of the light source is long, and thus the cost of frequent replacement of the light source is reduced, problems such as change in light intensity due to frequent replacement are solved, thereby achieving more stable performance. Second, since the filter included in the illumination optical system is not necessary, the configuration of the illumination optical system can be greatly simplified, thereby reducing the cost. Thirdly, the wavelength selection performance of the white light source, which requires a high level of technology, is not required, but the wavelength selection performance is superior to that of the white light according to the essential characteristics of the laser. Fourth, it is easier to configure the illumination optical system than the lamp-type light source. Fifth, it is possible to solve the heat problem resulting from the high-power lamp generated when using white light. That is, much of the light from the lamp is lost as heat, which is strong enough to damage the optical components used in the illumination optics. Therefore, there are limitations on the optical components that can be used. In order to solve these thermal problems, many complicated functions have to be added. However, when selecting a laser light source, these difficulties can be avoided.

In addition, according to the present invention, since a CCD camera is employed, necessary images can be obtained at once within the FOV range. This also reduces the time required to read the information for any reason. In addition, when the PMT is used, a driving high voltage power supply is not necessary. Such a high voltage power supply inevitably becomes an electrical noise source and may cause various problems, but according to the present invention, this problem can be fundamentally avoided.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims (11)

A stage on which a gene chip coated with a fluorescent material is placed; A laser light source for irradiating light of a specific wavelength to the gene chip; A CCD camera which receives the light irradiated from the laser light source and detects the fluorescence expressed in the fluorescent material and converts it into a digital signal for image processing; And And an illumination optical system for uniformly diffusing light so that light from the laser light source uniformly illuminates a predetermined region on the gene chip. The method of claim 1, The illumination optical system, A glass rod disposed in parallel with a traveling direction of light irradiated from the laser light source and diffused by total reflection as light passes therethrough; And an input side lens that reflects light uniformly diffused within the glass rod and illuminates a predetermined size on a gene chip. The method of claim 1, A stage driver for transferring the gene chip placed on the stage to a desired position; An output filter disposed between the stage and the CCD camera to transmit only fluorescence expressed in the gene chip coated with a fluorescent material; An imaging lens disposed between the stage and the CCD camera to form an image of the fluorescence expressed in the gene chip on the CCD camera; And And a image data processing unit for reading the image digital data obtained by the CCD camera. The method of claim 1, The illumination optical system is a gene reader, characterized in that it comprises an optical fiber. The method of claim 4, wherein The illumination optical system further comprises an input lens for illuminating a uniform size of light uniformly diffused on the gene chip while being reflected inside the optical fiber. The method of claim 1, The illumination optical system, A first input side lens configured to diffuse light emitted from the laser light source; A fly's eye lens which makes the intensity distribution of light passing through the first input side lens uniform; And And a second input side lens for illuminating light passing through the fly's eye lens in a predetermined effective illumination region. The method of claim 1, The illumination optical system, And a beam expander which makes the intensity distribution of light irradiated from the laser light source uniform. The method of claim 1, The illumination optical system, And a collimator which makes the intensity distribution of light irradiated from the laser light source uniform. The method of claim 1, The laser light source, The plurality of laser beam sources, And a beam splitter for collecting the paths of the laser beams emitted from the plurality of laser beam sources into one between the laser light source and the illumination optical system. The method of claim 9, The plurality of laser beam sources emit light of different wavelengths, respectively And a shutter for selectively actuating the plurality of laser beam sources. The method of claim 2, The CCD camera forms a plurality of images of fluorescence expressed in the gene chip for each effective lighting region, And the image data processing unit edits the fluorescence image of the entire gene chip by connecting the plurality of fluorescence images formed by the CCD camera to each other.

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