WO2010012980A1 - Optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy - Google Patents
Optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2010012980A1 WO2010012980A1 PCT/GB2009/001802 GB2009001802W WO2010012980A1 WO 2010012980 A1 WO2010012980 A1 WO 2010012980A1 GB 2009001802 W GB2009001802 W GB 2009001802W WO 2010012980 A1 WO2010012980 A1 WO 2010012980A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- sample
- optical
- light
- image
- optical arrangement
- Prior art date
Links
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 200
- 238000000386 microscopy Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 23
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 64
- 238000005286 illumination Methods 0.000 claims description 61
- 230000005284 excitation Effects 0.000 claims description 25
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims description 18
- 238000007654 immersion Methods 0.000 claims description 15
- 230000010287 polarization Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000002186 photoactivation Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000003213 activating effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000000523 sample Substances 0.000 description 96
- 230000004075 alteration Effects 0.000 description 18
- 238000003384 imaging method Methods 0.000 description 15
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000004624 confocal microscopy Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000000799 fluorescence microscopy Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 4
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000002360 preparation method Methods 0.000 description 3
- 206010034972 Photosensitivity reaction Diseases 0.000 description 2
- 239000012472 biological sample Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000001317 epifluorescence microscopy Methods 0.000 description 2
- NJPPVKZQTLUDBO-UHFFFAOYSA-N novaluron Chemical compound C1=C(Cl)C(OC(F)(F)C(OC(F)(F)F)F)=CC=C1NC(=O)NC(=O)C1=C(F)C=CC=C1F NJPPVKZQTLUDBO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000000399 optical microscopy Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000000059 patterning Methods 0.000 description 2
- 208000007578 phototoxic dermatitis Diseases 0.000 description 2
- 231100000018 phototoxicity Toxicity 0.000 description 2
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 2
- 208000032366 Oversensing Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 238000010521 absorption reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000013329 compounding Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010226 confocal imaging Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000007796 conventional method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 210000002257 embryonic structure Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 238000002073 fluorescence micrograph Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000007689 inspection Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008832 photodamage Effects 0.000 description 1
- 231100000760 phototoxic Toxicity 0.000 description 1
- 102000004169 proteins and genes Human genes 0.000 description 1
- 108090000623 proteins and genes Proteins 0.000 description 1
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003068 static effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B21/00—Microscopes
- G02B21/0004—Microscopes specially adapted for specific applications
- G02B21/002—Scanning microscopes
- G02B21/0024—Confocal scanning microscopes (CSOMs) or confocal "macroscopes"; Accessories which are not restricted to use with CSOMs, e.g. sample holders
- G02B21/0052—Optical details of the image generation
- G02B21/0076—Optical details of the image generation arrangements using fluorescence or luminescence
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B21/00—Microscopes
- G02B21/16—Microscopes adapted for ultraviolet illumination ; Fluorescence microscopes
Definitions
- This invention relates to optical microscopy, and in particular to an optical arrangement for selective illumination and microscopic imaging of an oblique plane within a specimen.
- optical microscopy provides high resolution (-200 nm) images and has a huge range of applications, from inspection of electronic devices to cell biology. In many cases, it is desirable to obtain so-called Optically sectioned' images, i.e. an image of only an axially thin slice through the sample.
- the advantages of optically sectioned imaging include reduction of out-of-focus blur, a potential increase in resolution, a reduction in light scattered from out-of-focus planes, and an ability to produce high resolution 3D images.
- the conventional method for obtaining high quality optically sectioned images is confocal microscopy.
- Confocal microscopy involves scanning a point of illumination and detecting the reflected or fluorescent light back to a confocal point detector. This results in high quality confocal imaging, but it is necessary to scan the point source and detection region over the sample in two or three dimensions, depending on whether a 2D or 3D image is required. Such scanning can limit the data acquisition rate or, if rapid scanning is employed, will increase the peak power at the sample, which can lead to increased photodamage and phototoxicity of biological samples.
- the scanning speed in confocal microscopy can be increased through the use of multiple excitation and detection spots, e.g. in a Nipkow disk microscope.
- the closer adjacent spots are placed the greater the chance of cross- talk between neighbouring confocal pinholes, which produces a concomitant increase in the size of side lobes or pedestal on the axial point spread function.
- confocal microscopy A number of alternative methods to confocal microscopy have been proposed, generally termed 'structured illumination' techniques. However, these all require the acquisition of multiple images using a CCD camera followed by image processing to calculate the sectioned image. Performing calculations on weak (noisy) fluorescence images leads to a compounding of the noise in the final image. All confocal and structured illumination techniques require that the whole sample be illuminated along its axial extent, even though only a single lateral plane in the sample is being imaged, and this leads to unnecessary photobleaching and phototoxic effects.
- SPIM Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy
- SPIM The drawback of SPIM is that two objective lenses are required and this gives rise to the two main disadvantages of this technique.
- Second, the need to illuminate the sample with a lens that is in the plane of the sample being imaged means that conventional sample preparation techniques, e.g. glass microscope slides, cannot be used, and a special sample holder needs to be used instead.
- This system is nearly equivalent to a SPIM system, but with two significant differences; the illumination and detection beams are not at 90° (as is usual for SPIM) and the sheet of illumination does not align in the focal plane of the imaging system used to collect the reflected/scattered light or fluorescence.
- This is shown in the image plane of Figure 2, where the image of the sample fluorescence (shown as a stripe) lies at significant angle to the image plane (dashed line).
- the detector cannot simply be tilted with respect to the optical axis due to unwanted spherical aberrations that would arise. This aberration will be most severe for parts of the image of the sample image that are furthest from the image plane.
- WO 2008/078083 discloses a focusing apparatus for use with an optical system.
- the focusing apparatus includes a focus adjusting means, which enables the position of a selected axial focal plane to be adjusted within the sample.
- an optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy comprising: a first optical subassembly, including an objective lens arranged to receive light from a sample in use, and configured to produce an intermediate image of the sample; and a second optical subassembly focused on the intermediate image, the optical axis of the second optical subassembly being at an angle to the optical axis of the first optical subassembly at the point of the intermediate image, such that the second optical subassembly images an oblique plane in the intermediate image, corresponding to an oblique plane in the sample.
- the angle between the two optical axes enables the second optical subassembly to be arranged normal to the oblique plane in the intermediate image, thereby enabling the oblique plane in the sample to be imaged without aberrations.
- the first optical subassembly may comprise a first part arranged to produce a magnified image of the sample, and a second part arranged to de- magnify the image obtained from the first part and thereby form the intermediate image.
- the first optical subassembly is configured to produce the intermediate image with a magnification of unity in both the lateral and axial directions. By recreating the original sample both laterally and axially in the intermediate image, this minimizes the effect of aberrations.
- the first optical subassembly images the sample whilst in an immersion medium (e.g. water or oil) then the magnification of the first optical subassembly is preferably equal to the refractive index of this immersion medium.
- the total magnification of the first optical subassembly is preferably equal to the ratio of the refractive indices of the two immersion media. That is to say, if the sample is placed in a first immersion medium having a refractive index n 1? or the intermediate image is formed in a second immersion medium having a refractive index n 2 , then the first optical subassembly is preferably configured to produce the intermediate image with a magnification of M in both the lateral and axial directions, where M is equal to the ratio (Ti 1 Zn 2 ) of the refractive indices of the first and second immersion media.
- first and second optical subassemblies may be formed using separate physical components, in alternative embodiments they may share common optical components, thereby making the overall optical arrangement potentially more compact.
- Common optical components may be used, for example, if a plane mirror is situated at the focus of the second part of the first optical subassembly (e.g. as is shown in Figure 3).
- the numerical aperture of the first optical subassembly is greater than the numerical aperture of the second optical subassembly.
- the said objective lens has a high numerical aperture.
- a light source is arranged to provide an incident beam of light to illuminate or excite an oblique plane in the sample, the oblique plane illuminated/excited corresponding to the oblique plane being imaged.
- the incident beam of light is directed through the same objective lens as that which is used to receive light from the sample.
- a single objective lens in this manner reduces the number of components in the overall assembly, and potentially makes it more compact and manoeuvrable, particularly in the vicinity of the sample.
- a high numerical aperture lens can be used to collect the light while still being able to produce a thin sheet of illumination.
- conventional sample preparation techniques e.g. glass microscope slides, can be employed.
- the incident beam of light is directed through the objective lens such that it is incident on the sample at an angle of substantially 90° relative to the beam of light received from the sample through the same objective lens.
- the incident beam of light may be directed along the whole of the first optical subassembly.
- Such a configuration enables all the optical components required for oblique plane microscopy to be placed outside the body of a 'conventional' microscope.
- the components defining the illumination beam path and the second optical subassembly may be mounted on a common platform, and actuation means may be provided for translating the components defining the illumination beam path and the second optical subassembly together. This enables the plane being imaged to be moved through the sample, without affecting or moving the sample itself.
- the optical arrangement may further comprise means for changing the magnification of the said objective lens, and means for changing one or more optical components elsewhere in the optical arrangement in correspondence with the change in magnification of the said objective lens, so as to maintain a desired overall magnification within the first optical subassembly.
- the optical arrangement may further comprise an image rotating prism such as a Dove prism behind the said objective lens, in order to be able to change the orientation of the oblique illumination plane and the obliquely imaged plane in the sample simultaneously, without the need to physically rotate relatively large parts of the apparatus.
- an image rotating prism such as a Dove prism behind the said objective lens
- the optical arrangement may be arranged such that the image contrast arises from light reflected or scattered by the sample, or from the polarization state of the reflected or scattered light.
- the optical arrangement may be arranged such that the image contrast arises from fluorescent light emitted from the sample, optionally as a result of a multiphoton excitation process.
- the fluorescent light may be excited at one or more wavelengths and detected in corresponding detection bands at longer (for single photon excitation) or shorter (for multiphoton excitation) wavelengths than each excitation wavelength.
- the image contrast may arise from differences in the fluorescence lifetime of the sample, or from the polarization state of the emitted fluorescence.
- the optical arrangement may be arranged to image particles or cells flowing through the oblique image plane, for example in a microfluidic device.
- it may be set up in combination with an electronically-controlled stage for positioning the sample or for moving the sample in one or more directions. By scanning the sample in one or more directions it is then possible to build up a 3D image of the sample.
- the second optical subassembly is arranged to have a combination of both a long working distance and a high numerical aperture, so as to facilitate the avoidance of collisions with the optical elements that make up the first optical subassembly.
- a method of performing oblique plane microscopy comprising: receiving light from a sample via a first optical subassembly and producing an intermediate image of the sample; and focusing a second optical subassembly on the intermediate image, the optical axis of the second optical subassembly being at an angle to the optical axis of the first optical subassembly at the point of the intermediate image, such that the second optical subassembly images an oblique plane in the intermediate image, corresponding to an oblique plane in the sample.
- the fluorescence may originate from single individually-resolvable molecules.
- the method may further comprise adjusting the number of fluorescent molecules in the sample by activating or deactivating the fluorescence via a photoactivation or photo- switching mechanism, thereby enabling molecules to be individually resolved.
- the photoactivation or photo-switching mechanism may be controlled by illumination of the sample (that may be wide-field or may be an oblique illumination) at one or more additional wavelengths.
- the method may further comprise modifying the excitation sheet so that it is exhibits a more complex form such as a sinusoidal grating. Additional resolution may be obtained by modulating the position or phase of the complex illumination (e.g. sinusoidal grating) and acquiring a plurality of images at different modulations.
- modifying the excitation sheet so that it is exhibits a more complex form such as a sinusoidal grating. Additional resolution may be obtained by modulating the position or phase of the complex illumination (e.g. sinusoidal grating) and acquiring a plurality of images at different modulations.
- a method of performing oblique plane microscopy comprising directing an incident beam of light through an objective lens to illuminate or excite an oblique plane in a sample, and receiving light from the sample through the same objective lens, wherein the incident beam of light is incident on the sample at an angle of substantially 90° relative to the beam of light received from the sample.
- a microscope comprising an optical arrangement in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, or which is configured for performing a method in accordance with the second or third aspects of the invention.
- Optical elements may be added to a conventional microscope to form embodiments of the invention.
- Figure 1 illustrates the optical configuration for SPIM [1,2,3,4,5]
- Figure 2 illustrates the optical configuration for HILO [6] using a single objective lens
- Figure 3 illustrates the optical configuration of an embodiment of the invention
- FIGS 4 and 5 illustrate laboratory prototypes of embodiments of the invention
- Figure 6 illustrates the optical configuration of another embodiment of the invention.
- Figure 7 illustrates the distribution of beams at the back aperture of the microscope objective when using a structured oblique illumination pattern
- Figure 8 illustrates the angular distribution of beams at the sample (as discussed in Appendix 1);
- Figure 9 illustrates the distribution of beams at the back aperture of the microscope objective (see Appendix 1).
- the present embodiments provide a method of correcting for the aberrations occurring in the HILO technique [6,7] so that true SPIM can be achieved using a single high numerical aperture lens.
- High numerical aperture (NA) microscope objectives allow light to be collected over a range of angles that is much larger than 90°, e.g. a water immersion lens with an NA of 1.2 collects light over 130°. The principle of SPIM can therefore be achieved using a single objective lens.
- the present embodiments also include correction optics that allow an oblique plane in the sample to be imaged without encountering optical aberrations.
- the use of a conventional microscope objective means that biological samples prepared on conventional glass slides can be imaged with high resolution.
- a recent paper [8] (and patent application WO 2008/078083) describes a technique for 'Aberration-free optical refocusing in high numerical aperture microscopy' .
- This paper describes a microscope system that can be refocused without moving either the sample or the primary microscope objective. This is achieved by coupling a second (almost) identical microscope to the back of the microscope used to image the sample. A third microscope system is then used to re-magnify the image produced by the second system, and can be positioned so as to image a range of focal planes perpendicular to the optical axis within the specimen.
- FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the aberration correction principle according to the present invention.
- the present technique may be referred to as oblique plane microscopy (OPM).
- OPM oblique plane microscopy
- the optical arrangement 10 of Figure 3 may be integrated in a microscope, or provided as a "bolt-on" attachment for existing microscopes.
- the optical arrangement 10 of Figure 3 comprises a first optical subassembly 17 and a second optical subassembly 18. At one end of the first optical subassembly 17 is an objective lens 26 having a high numerical aperture.
- a sample 12 is located in the focal plane of the objective lens 26.
- a light source 20 is arranged to provide an incident beam of light 22 to illuminate or excite a selected oblique plane (illustrated as a stripe in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6) in the sample 12.
- the incident beam 22 is directed, via mirror 21, through one side of the objective lens 26.
- mirror 21 may be replaced by a larger partially reflecting beamsplitter or dichroic mirror that covers the whole of the back aperture of lens 26, e.g. as shown in Figure 4.
- the light source 20 may be a laser, or some other source of visible light, or a source of light outside the visible region, such as ultraviolet or infrared.
- the light source may be reflected or scattered from the sample, or fluorescence excited through a one- or multi-photon absorption process may be used.
- the selected oblique plane in the sample 12 emits fluorescence light 24.
- the fluorescence light 24 is collected by the first optical subassembly 17. (In alternative embodiments, reflected or scattered light instead of fluorescence may be collected.)
- the group of rays forming the detected beam 24 is at substantially 90° to the group of rays forming the incident beam 22, and is collected through the same objective lens 26 as is used to illuminate the sample.
- the detected beam 24 passes through the opposite side of the objective lens 26 from the path of the incident beam 22.
- the detected beam 24 is then directed through further lenses 28, 32 and 34 to produce an intermediate image 36.
- the objective lens 26, lens 34 and lens 38 are not restricted to operating in air and may use any other immersion medium, such as oil or water.
- the first optical subassembly 17 may be regarded as comprising a first microscope part 14 and a second microscope part 16.
- the second microscope part 16 which comprises lenses
- the intermediate image 36 is at a magnification of unity in both the axial and lateral directions
- the first optical subassembly 17 may be implemented with any number of optical elements that achieves the same result.
- Lens 34 has a sufficiently high numerical aperture such that it does not restrict or reduce the numerical aperture of the first optical subassembly 17.
- the second optical subassembly 18, which comprises lenses 38 and 40, is arranged such that lens 38 focuses on the intermediate image 36.
- the focal plane of lens 38 intersects with the focal plane of lens 34 at the centre of the intermediate image 36.
- lens 38 is designed to operate with both a long working distance and high numerical aperture, so that the desired angle between lenses 34 and 38 can be achieved without the two lenses colliding.
- the light collected from the image 36 is magnified by lenses 38 and 40, which also focuses the light, thereby producing a magnified image 42 of the sample 12.
- the resulting magnified image 42 (Image 3) may be detected by a charge-coupled device (CCD) detector (e.g. detector 48 in Figures 4, 5 and 6), or other means for detecting or viewing the magnified image.
- CCD charge-coupled device
- the second optical subassembly 18 may be implemented with any number of optical elements that achieves the same result.
- the optical axis of the second optical subassembly 18 is at an angle to the optical axis of the first optical subassembly.
- the angle between the optical axes of the first and second optical subassemblies at the point of the intermediate image 36 corresponds to the angle of the selected plane within the sample 12 relative to the optical axis of the objective lens 26.
- This configuration enables the objective lens 38 to receive light normal to the selected plane within the intermediate image 36, along the optical axis of lens 38, even though the selected plane is at an oblique angle in the sample 12. That is to say, the selected plane within the intermediate image 36 is aligned with the focal plane of lens 38.
- the rays of light leave lens 34 and converge (towards the point of the intermediate image 36) about an angle relative to the optical axis of lens 34, the angle corresponding to the angle of the selected plane within the sample 12 relative to the optical axis of the objective lens 26.
- These converging rays are then collected by the second optical subassembly 18.
- the focal point of lens 38 of the second optical subassembly 18 coincides with the focal point of the converging rays leaving lens 34, and the optical axis of lens 38 is centred about the rays leaving lens 34.
- optical aberrations are generally designed to magnify or focus light received at their designed focal plane without introducing optical aberrations. Accordingly, since the objective lens 38 of the second optical subassembly 18 receives the incoming light centrally about its designed focal plane, rather than at an angle, it is able to magnify the selected plane without introducing optical aberrations.
- the second optical subassembly 18 focusing on and magnifying the intermediate image 36 (rather than the sample 12 itself), the second optical subassembly 18 is able to re-image any plane in the intermediate image 36 without the need to adjust or disturb the specimen 12.
- This concept is similar to the ideas presented in [8], with the important exception that now an oblique plane in the specimen is imaged.
- the light rays 24 emitted (or reflected or scattered) from the sample will be emitted in all directions.
- the numerical aperture of the objective lens 38 of the second optical subassembly 18 places the restriction on the range of angles of light that are ultimately collected by the detector or CCD camera 48.
- Image contrast may be achieved in a number of ways. It may arise from light reflected or scattered by the sample. In fluorescence microscopy, the image contrast may arise from fluorescent light excited at one or more wavelengths and detected in corresponding detection bands at longer wavelengths than each excitation wavelength. Alternatively, the image contrast may arise from differences in the fluorescence lifetime of the sample.
- the fluorescence may originate from single individually-resolvable molecules.
- the fluorescence of the molecules may be switched on or off through any photoactivation or photo-switching mechanism, which may be controlled by illumination of the sample at one or more additional wavelengths.
- the image contrast may arise from the polarization state of the reflected or scattered light, or the polarization state of the emitted fluorescence.
- the second optical subassembly 18 may be produced as a distinct set of optical components (e.g. lenses 38 and 40), in alternative embodiments the second optical subassembly 18 may share common optical components with parts of the first optical subassembly 17, whilst also achieving the same level of compensation against aberrations.
- One example of such an alternative embodiment produces magnified image 47 rather than image 42, and involves placing an obliquely angled mirror along the plane indicated by a solid line 44 at the intermediate focal plane (image 36), resulting in image 47 (Image 3') being produced (via mirror 45 and lens 46).
- the angle of the mirror at the intermediate focal plane is half the angle of the slope of the oblique plane being imaged.
- Mirror 45 may also consist of a larger partially reflective mirror that covers the whole back aperture of lens 34.
- the concept of using a second optical subassembly 18 at an angle to a first optical subassembly 17, as described above, may be used separately from the concept of a common objective lens 26 for directing the illumination and collected beams at 90° to one another, and vice versa.
- Figures 4 and 5 illustrate laboratory prototypes of embodiments of the invention. In essence, the optical arrangements in Figures 4 and 5 function in the same way as that of Figure 3 as described above. However, being laboratory prototypes, the arrangements of Figures 4 and 5 provide additional practical details that are useful for putting the present invention into practice.
- the angle of the illumination 22 can be controlled by translating the slit 23.
- the thickness of the 'sheet' illumination at lens 26 can be controlled by changing the width of the slit 23.
- Figure 4 shows a fluorescent sphere as the object at the focus of lens 26.
- the stripe indicates the region where fluorescence is excited.
- the subsequent images 30, 36 and 42 (at lenses 28, 34 and 40) indicate how the image of the object is distorted (these images are not to scale and serve only to illustrate the distortion).
- the optical configuration has been made more light efficient, as less of the excitation light 22 is blocked by the slit 23.
- the angle of the illumination can be controlled by the angle of mirror Ml.
- the width of the 'sheet' illumination at lens 26 can be controlled by changing the width of the slit 23.
- An alternative method for providing the illumination sheet is to couple the illumination beam through the whole of the first optical subassembly 17, using an optical configuration such as the one shown in Figure 6.
- Light from a laser 80 may be focused by a cylindrical lens 82 to produce a sheet of illumination in the focal plane of lens 34.
- This illumination sheet is then relayed through the first optical subassembly 17 to create a sheet of illumination at the sample 12.
- a slit 81 may be used to adjust the width of the laser beam and hence the thickness of the illumination sheet. Other arrangements to adjust the position and width of the illumination sheet may be employed, as will be known by those skilled in the art.
- the optical axis of the illumination beam path 84 is preferably placed at an angle of 90° to the axis of the second optical subassembly 18.
- the advantage of this arrangement is that all of the optical components required for oblique plane microscopy can then be placed outside the body of a 'conventional' microscope 90.
- fluorescence microscopy it would be necessary to add a fluorescence emission filter 85 into the beam path of the second optical subassembly 18 in order to prevent any excitation light reaching the detector 48.
- the illumination and detection beam paths (84, 18) are accurately relayed to the sample 12 by the first optical subassembly 17, movement of the illumination and detection beam paths (84, 18) together will cause the plane illuminated and imaged to be moved through the sample 12. This movement of the illumination and detection beam paths (84, 18) can be achieved without affecting or moving the sample itself, and so will not perturb or cause vibrations in the sample 12.
- an image rotating prism e.g. a Dove prism or such like, immediately behind the back aperture of the objective lens 26 in order to change the orientation of the oblique illumination plane and the obliquely imaged plane in the sample simultaneously, without the need to physically rotate relatively large parts of the apparatus.
- Optical arrangements according to embodiments of the present invention may be used to image static samples, or may be employed to image particles or cells flowing through the oblique image plane, e.g. in a microfluidic device. Such particles or cells may be intentionally flowed through the oblique image plane, as part of the imaging procedure.
- An optical arrangement embodying the present invention may be integrated in a microscope, or provided as a "bolt-on" attachment for an existing microscope. Indeed, a conventional microscope could be used to provide the functionality of the first microscope part 14, provided a sufficiently high NA objective lens 26 is employed.
- the optical arrangement may be combined with an electronically-controlled stage for positioning the sample or for moving the sample in one or more directions. By scanning the sample in one or more directions it is then possible to build up a 3D image of the sample.
- Embodiments of the invention could be extended to exploit the possibility of patterning the excitation sheet illumination in the plane of the illumination sheet. More explicitly, it is possible to pattern the excitation in the direction that is both perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the excitation beam and parallel to the plane of the illumination. For example, illuminating the back aperture of lens 26 in the fashion depicted in Figure 7 would lead to a sinusoidal patterning of the illumination sheet (i.e. effectively a sinusoidal grating). By varying or modulating this patterned illumination, acquiring multiple images at different modulations (grating positions) and then applying image processing techniques, it would be possible to achieve an enhanced resolution in the direction perpendicular to the grating pattern without compromising the thickness of the thin sheet of illumination. This technique may be termed "resolution enhancement though structured illumination”.
- Figure 8 is a diagram showing the angular distribution of beams at the sample.
- the geometry of Figure 8 is as follows:
- the numerical aperture of the objective lens is defined as:
- NA n sin ⁇
- d 0.61 ⁇ / « sin ⁇
- d the position of the first minimum of the point spread function relative to the maximum.
- the confocal parameter is given by Iz x , which equals 10 ⁇ m in this example. Decreasing ⁇ ex will increase the confocal parameter at the expense of increasing the thickness of the illumination sheet (or 'z' resolution).
- Figure 9 sketches how the excitation and detection rays occupy the back aperture of the microscope objective 26.
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Microscoopes, Condenser (AREA)
- Investigating, Analyzing Materials By Fluorescence Or Luminescence (AREA)
Abstract
An optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy comprising: a first optical subassembly, including an objective lens arranged to receive light from a sample in use, and configured to produce an intermediate image of the sample; and a second optical subassembly focused on the intermediate image, the optical axis of the second optical subassembly being at an angle to the optical axis of the first optical subassembly at the point of the intermediate image, such that the second optical subassembly images an oblique plane in the intermediate image, corresponding to an oblique plane in the sample. Also provided is a method of performing oblique plane microscopy comprising directing an incident beam of light through an objective lens to illuminate or excite an oblique plane in a sample, and receiving light from the sample through the same objective lens, wherein the incident beam of light is incident on the sample at an angle of substantially 90° relative to the beam of light received from the sample.
Description
OPTICAL ARRANGEMENT FOR OBLIQUE PLANE MICROSCOPY
This invention relates to optical microscopy, and in particular to an optical arrangement for selective illumination and microscopic imaging of an oblique plane within a specimen.
Background to the Invention
Conventional optical microscopy provides high resolution (-200 nm) images and has a huge range of applications, from inspection of electronic devices to cell biology. In many cases, it is desirable to obtain so-called Optically sectioned' images, i.e. an image of only an axially thin slice through the sample. The advantages of optically sectioned imaging include reduction of out-of-focus blur, a potential increase in resolution, a reduction in light scattered from out-of-focus planes, and an ability to produce high resolution 3D images. The conventional method for obtaining high quality optically sectioned images is confocal microscopy.
Confocal microscopy involves scanning a point of illumination and detecting the reflected or fluorescent light back to a confocal point detector. This results in high quality confocal imaging, but it is necessary to scan the point source and detection region over the sample in two or three dimensions, depending on whether a 2D or 3D image is required. Such scanning can limit the data acquisition rate or, if rapid scanning is employed, will increase the peak power at the sample, which can lead to increased photodamage and phototoxicity of biological samples.
The scanning speed in confocal microscopy can be increased through the use of multiple excitation and detection spots, e.g. in a Nipkow disk microscope. However, the closer adjacent spots are placed, the greater the chance of cross-
talk between neighbouring confocal pinholes, which produces a concomitant increase in the size of side lobes or pedestal on the axial point spread function.
A number of alternative methods to confocal microscopy have been proposed, generally termed 'structured illumination' techniques. However, these all require the acquisition of multiple images using a CCD camera followed by image processing to calculate the sectioned image. Performing calculations on weak (noisy) fluorescence images leads to a compounding of the noise in the final image. All confocal and structured illumination techniques require that the whole sample be illuminated along its axial extent, even though only a single lateral plane in the sample is being imaged, and this leads to unnecessary photobleaching and phototoxic effects.
A recently developed technique for obtaining optically sectioned images is that of Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) [1,2], which followed early work by Voie et al. [3] and Fuchs et al. [4]. The SPIM technique [5] uses two objective lenses, separated by an angle of 90° relative to one another and used to view the same sample. One lens is used to illuminate only a thin 'sheet' within the sample and the second lens is used to produce a diffraction limited image of this sheet. The optical configuration for SPIM is illustrated in Figure
1. The region in the sample where fluorescence is excited is perfectly imaged by the detection optics onto the detection image plane. It should be noted that the image is stretched axially due to the greater (M2) axial magnification of the detection optical system. SPIM has been used to obtain images of small organisms and embryos and can be used to image both reflected or scattered light and fluorescence [5].
The drawback of SPIM is that two objective lenses are required and this gives rise to the two main disadvantages of this technique. First, it is mechanically
difficult to arrange for the two objectives to be placed close enough to one another so that a high numerical aperture lens can be used to collect the light while still being able to produce a thin sheet of illumination. This can restrict the numerical aperture and hence resolution of the imaging system. Second, the need to illuminate the sample with a lens that is in the plane of the sample being imaged means that conventional sample preparation techniques, e.g. glass microscope slides, cannot be used, and a special sample holder needs to be used instead.
Recent work by Tokunaga et al. [6] and Konopka et al. [7] has shown that it is possible to illuminate a thin sheet of a sample using the same objective that is used to collect the fluorescence. This is illustrated in Figure 2. This imaging system was termed Highly Inclined and Laminated Optical sheet (HILO) microscopy and variable angle epi-fluorescence microscopy. A 3D image of the specimen can then be produced by scanning the sheet illumination or specimen in one direction. This system is nearly equivalent to a SPIM system, but with two significant differences; the illumination and detection beams are not at 90° (as is usual for SPIM) and the sheet of illumination does not align in the focal plane of the imaging system used to collect the reflected/scattered light or fluorescence. This is shown in the image plane of Figure 2, where the image of the sample fluorescence (shown as a stripe) lies at significant angle to the image plane (dashed line). The detector cannot simply be tilted with respect to the optical axis due to unwanted spherical aberrations that would arise. This aberration will be most severe for parts of the image of the sample image that are furthest from the image plane.
There is therefore a desire to be able to use a technique similar to SPIM, but using a single objective lens at the sample, and with the illumination and
detection beams at 90° at the sample, whilst avoiding (or at least minimising) the aberration affects.
Further background art is provided in WO 2008/078083, which discloses a focusing apparatus for use with an optical system. The focusing apparatus includes a focus adjusting means, which enables the position of a selected axial focal plane to be adjusted within the sample.
Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an optical arrangement as defined in Claim 1 of the appended claims. Thus there is provided an optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy comprising: a first optical subassembly, including an objective lens arranged to receive light from a sample in use, and configured to produce an intermediate image of the sample; and a second optical subassembly focused on the intermediate image, the optical axis of the second optical subassembly being at an angle to the optical axis of the first optical subassembly at the point of the intermediate image, such that the second optical subassembly images an oblique plane in the intermediate image, corresponding to an oblique plane in the sample. The angle between the two optical axes enables the second optical subassembly to be arranged normal to the oblique plane in the intermediate image, thereby enabling the oblique plane in the sample to be imaged without aberrations.
Optional features are defined in the dependent claims.
Thus, the first optical subassembly may comprise a first part arranged to produce a magnified image of the sample, and a second part arranged to de- magnify the image obtained from the first part and thereby form the intermediate image.
Preferably the first optical subassembly is configured to produce the intermediate image with a magnification of unity in both the lateral and axial directions. By recreating the original sample both laterally and axially in the intermediate image, this minimizes the effect of aberrations. However, if the first optical subassembly images the sample whilst in an immersion medium (e.g. water or oil) then the magnification of the first optical subassembly is preferably equal to the refractive index of this immersion medium. If the intermediate image is also formed in an immersion medium, then the total magnification of the first optical subassembly is preferably equal to the ratio of the refractive indices of the two immersion media. That is to say, if the sample is placed in a first immersion medium having a refractive index n1? or the intermediate image is formed in a second immersion medium having a refractive index n2, then the first optical subassembly is preferably configured to produce the intermediate image with a magnification of M in both the lateral and axial directions, where M is equal to the ratio (Ti1Zn2) of the refractive indices of the first and second immersion media.
Although the first and second optical subassemblies may be formed using separate physical components, in alternative embodiments they may share common optical components, thereby making the overall optical arrangement potentially more compact. Common optical components may be used, for example, if a plane mirror is situated at the focus of the second part of the first optical subassembly (e.g. as is shown in Figure 3).
Preferably the numerical aperture of the first optical subassembly is greater than the numerical aperture of the second optical subassembly.
Preferably the said objective lens has a high numerical aperture.
Preferably a light source is arranged to provide an incident beam of light to illuminate or excite an oblique plane in the sample, the oblique plane illuminated/excited corresponding to the oblique plane being imaged.
More preferably, the incident beam of light is directed through the same objective lens as that which is used to receive light from the sample. Using a single objective lens in this manner reduces the number of components in the overall assembly, and potentially makes it more compact and manoeuvrable, particularly in the vicinity of the sample. Moreover, as a result of having only a single objective lens at the sample, a high numerical aperture lens can be used to collect the light while still being able to produce a thin sheet of illumination. Additionally, as a consequence of using a single objective lens at the sample, conventional sample preparation techniques, e.g. glass microscope slides, can be employed.
Particularly preferably the incident beam of light is directed through the objective lens such that it is incident on the sample at an angle of substantially 90° relative to the beam of light received from the sample through the same objective lens. By selectively illuminating the oblique plane in this manner, and collecting the light from it normal (90°) to the oblique plane, a thin plane may be imaged, without aberrations, and better spatial resolution and sectioning may be achieved.
The incident beam of light may be directed along the whole of the first optical subassembly. Such a configuration enables all the optical components required for oblique plane microscopy to be placed outside the body of a 'conventional' microscope.
Additionally, or alternatively, the components defining the illumination beam path and the second optical subassembly may be mounted on a common platform, and actuation means may be provided for translating the components defining the illumination beam path and the second optical subassembly together. This enables the plane being imaged to be moved through the sample, without affecting or moving the sample itself.
The optical arrangement may further comprise means for changing the magnification of the said objective lens, and means for changing one or more optical components elsewhere in the optical arrangement in correspondence with the change in magnification of the said objective lens, so as to maintain a desired overall magnification within the first optical subassembly.
The optical arrangement may further comprise an image rotating prism such as a Dove prism behind the said objective lens, in order to be able to change the orientation of the oblique illumination plane and the obliquely imaged plane in the sample simultaneously, without the need to physically rotate relatively large parts of the apparatus.
The optical arrangement may be arranged such that the image contrast arises from light reflected or scattered by the sample, or from the polarization state of the reflected or scattered light.
Alternatively, the optical arrangement may be arranged such that the image contrast arises from fluorescent light emitted from the sample, optionally as a result of a multiphoton excitation process. The fluorescent light may be excited at one or more wavelengths and detected in corresponding detection bands at longer (for single photon excitation) or shorter (for multiphoton excitation) wavelengths than each excitation wavelength. Alternatively, the
image contrast may arise from differences in the fluorescence lifetime of the sample, or from the polarization state of the emitted fluorescence.
In use, the optical arrangement may be arranged to image particles or cells flowing through the oblique image plane, for example in a microfluidic device.
Alternatively, it may be set up in combination with an electronically-controlled stage for positioning the sample or for moving the sample in one or more directions. By scanning the sample in one or more directions it is then possible to build up a 3D image of the sample.
Preferably the second optical subassembly is arranged to have a combination of both a long working distance and a high numerical aperture, so as to facilitate the avoidance of collisions with the optical elements that make up the first optical subassembly.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of performing oblique plane microscopy comprising: receiving light from a sample via a first optical subassembly and producing an intermediate image of the sample; and focusing a second optical subassembly on the intermediate image, the optical axis of the second optical subassembly being at an angle to the optical axis of the first optical subassembly at the point of the intermediate image, such that the second optical subassembly images an oblique plane in the intermediate image, corresponding to an oblique plane in the sample.
In embodiments employing fluorescence imaging, the fluorescence may originate from single individually-resolvable molecules. The method may further comprise adjusting the number of fluorescent molecules in the sample
by activating or deactivating the fluorescence via a photoactivation or photo- switching mechanism, thereby enabling molecules to be individually resolved. The photoactivation or photo-switching mechanism may be controlled by illumination of the sample (that may be wide-field or may be an oblique illumination) at one or more additional wavelengths.
Also with fluorescence imaging, or when imaging reflected or scattered light, the method may further comprise modifying the excitation sheet so that it is exhibits a more complex form such as a sinusoidal grating. Additional resolution may be obtained by modulating the position or phase of the complex illumination (e.g. sinusoidal grating) and acquiring a plurality of images at different modulations.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of performing oblique plane microscopy comprising directing an incident beam of light through an objective lens to illuminate or excite an oblique plane in a sample, and receiving light from the sample through the same objective lens, wherein the incident beam of light is incident on the sample at an angle of substantially 90° relative to the beam of light received from the sample.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a microscope comprising an optical arrangement in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, or which is configured for performing a method in accordance with the second or third aspects of the invention. Optical elements may be added to a conventional microscope to form embodiments of the invention.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the drawings in which:
Figure 1 illustrates the optical configuration for SPIM [1,2,3,4,5]; Figure 2 illustrates the optical configuration for HILO [6] using a single objective lens;
Figure 3 illustrates the optical configuration of an embodiment of the invention;
Figures 4 and 5 illustrate laboratory prototypes of embodiments of the invention;
Figure 6 illustrates the optical configuration of another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 7 illustrates the distribution of beams at the back aperture of the microscope objective when using a structured oblique illumination pattern; Figure 8 illustrates the angular distribution of beams at the sample (as discussed in Appendix 1); and
Figure 9 illustrates the distribution of beams at the back aperture of the microscope objective (see Appendix 1).
In the figures, like elements are indicated by like reference numerals throughout.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
The present embodiments represent the best ways known to the applicant of putting the invention into practice. However, they are not the only ways in which this can be achieved.
The present embodiments provide a method of correcting for the aberrations occurring in the HILO technique [6,7] so that true SPIM can be achieved using
a single high numerical aperture lens. High numerical aperture (NA) microscope objectives allow light to be collected over a range of angles that is much larger than 90°, e.g. a water immersion lens with an NA of 1.2 collects light over 130°. The principle of SPIM can therefore be achieved using a single objective lens. The present embodiments also include correction optics that allow an oblique plane in the sample to be imaged without encountering optical aberrations. The use of a conventional microscope objective means that biological samples prepared on conventional glass slides can be imaged with high resolution.
A recent paper [8] (and patent application WO 2008/078083) describes a technique for 'Aberration-free optical refocusing in high numerical aperture microscopy' . This paper describes a microscope system that can be refocused without moving either the sample or the primary microscope objective. This is achieved by coupling a second (almost) identical microscope to the back of the microscope used to image the sample. A third microscope system is then used to re-magnify the image produced by the second system, and can be positioned so as to image a range of focal planes perpendicular to the optical axis within the specimen. This combination of microscope imaging systems corrects for the severe out-of-plane aberrations (mostly spherical aberration) that prevent refocusing of the detector plane in a conventional microscope. However, neither the concept of imaging of oblique planes nor the concept of oblique illumination is provided for.
A key feature of the embodiments disclosed in the present patent application is that, by angling the third microscope with respect to the second system, it is possible to perfectly image an oblique plane through the sample. This is exactly what is required to correct the aberrations encountered in single objective SPIM or HILO microscopy.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the aberration correction principle according to the present invention. The present technique may be referred to as oblique plane microscopy (OPM). In use, the optical arrangement 10 of Figure 3 may be integrated in a microscope, or provided as a "bolt-on" attachment for existing microscopes.
The optical arrangement 10 of Figure 3 comprises a first optical subassembly 17 and a second optical subassembly 18. At one end of the first optical subassembly 17 is an objective lens 26 having a high numerical aperture. In use, a sample 12 is located in the focal plane of the objective lens 26. A light source 20 is arranged to provide an incident beam of light 22 to illuminate or excite a selected oblique plane (illustrated as a stripe in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6) in the sample 12. In order to illuminate this oblique plane, the incident beam 22 is directed, via mirror 21, through one side of the objective lens 26. In other embodiments of the invention, mirror 21 may be replaced by a larger partially reflecting beamsplitter or dichroic mirror that covers the whole of the back aperture of lens 26, e.g. as shown in Figure 4.
The light source 20 may be a laser, or some other source of visible light, or a source of light outside the visible region, such as ultraviolet or infrared. The light source may be reflected or scattered from the sample, or fluorescence excited through a one- or multi-photon absorption process may be used.
Excited by the incident beam 22, the selected oblique plane in the sample 12 emits fluorescence light 24. The fluorescence light 24 is collected by the first optical subassembly 17. (In alternative embodiments, reflected or scattered light instead of fluorescence may be collected.) At the sample, the group of rays forming the detected beam 24 is at substantially 90° to the group of rays
forming the incident beam 22, and is collected through the same objective lens 26 as is used to illuminate the sample. The detected beam 24 passes through the opposite side of the objective lens 26 from the path of the incident beam 22. The detected beam 24 is then directed through further lenses 28, 32 and 34 to produce an intermediate image 36. The objective lens 26, lens 34 and lens 38 are not restricted to operating in air and may use any other immersion medium, such as oil or water.
The first optical subassembly 17 may be regarded as comprising a first microscope part 14 and a second microscope part 16. The first microscope part
14, which comprises lenses 26 and 28, produces a magnified image 30 (Image
1) of the sample 12. The second microscope part 16, which comprises lenses
32 and 34, is arranged to de-magnify the image 30 to produce the intermediate image 36 (Image 2) which corresponds to the sample 12. The intermediate image 36 is at a magnification of unity in both the axial and lateral directions
(in the case that lens 26 operates in air) with respect to the sample 12. By recreating the original sample 12 both axially and laterally in the intermediate image 36, this is expected to prevent the effect of optical aberrations. In effect, lenses 32 and 34 compensate for (or "undo") any aberrations produced by lenses 26 and 28. The first optical subassembly 17 may be implemented with any number of optical elements that achieves the same result.
Lens 34 has a sufficiently high numerical aperture such that it does not restrict or reduce the numerical aperture of the first optical subassembly 17.
The second optical subassembly 18, which comprises lenses 38 and 40, is arranged such that lens 38 focuses on the intermediate image 36. The focal plane of lens 38 intersects with the focal plane of lens 34 at the centre of the intermediate image 36. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, lens 38 is
designed to operate with both a long working distance and high numerical aperture, so that the desired angle between lenses 34 and 38 can be achieved without the two lenses colliding. The light collected from the image 36 is magnified by lenses 38 and 40, which also focuses the light, thereby producing a magnified image 42 of the sample 12. The resulting magnified image 42 (Image 3) may be detected by a charge-coupled device (CCD) detector (e.g. detector 48 in Figures 4, 5 and 6), or other means for detecting or viewing the magnified image. The second optical subassembly 18 may be implemented with any number of optical elements that achieves the same result.
At the point of the intermediate image 36 (i.e. at the point where the focal plane of lens 38 intersects with the focal plane of lens 34), the optical axis of the second optical subassembly 18 is at an angle to the optical axis of the first optical subassembly. The angle between the optical axes of the first and second optical subassemblies at the point of the intermediate image 36 corresponds to the angle of the selected plane within the sample 12 relative to the optical axis of the objective lens 26. This configuration enables the objective lens 38 to receive light normal to the selected plane within the intermediate image 36, along the optical axis of lens 38, even though the selected plane is at an oblique angle in the sample 12. That is to say, the selected plane within the intermediate image 36 is aligned with the focal plane of lens 38.
Considering it another way, at the point of the intermediate image 36 the rays of light leave lens 34 and converge (towards the point of the intermediate image 36) about an angle relative to the optical axis of lens 34, the angle corresponding to the angle of the selected plane within the sample 12 relative to the optical axis of the objective lens 26. These converging rays are then collected by the second optical subassembly 18. The focal point of lens 38 of
the second optical subassembly 18 coincides with the focal point of the converging rays leaving lens 34, and the optical axis of lens 38 is centred about the rays leaving lens 34.
It will be appreciated that good quality lenses are generally designed to magnify or focus light received at their designed focal plane without introducing optical aberrations. Accordingly, since the objective lens 38 of the second optical subassembly 18 receives the incoming light centrally about its designed focal plane, rather than at an angle, it is able to magnify the selected plane without introducing optical aberrations.
Also, by virtue of the second optical subassembly 18 focusing on and magnifying the intermediate image 36 (rather than the sample 12 itself), the second optical subassembly 18 is able to re-image any plane in the intermediate image 36 without the need to adjust or disturb the specimen 12. This concept is similar to the ideas presented in [8], with the important exception that now an oblique plane in the specimen is imaged.
The range of angles of oblique planes that can be imaged depends on the lenses used. The formulae that can be used to calculate this are provided in the Appendix.
In practice, the light rays 24 emitted (or reflected or scattered) from the sample will be emitted in all directions. The numerical aperture of the objective lens 38 of the second optical subassembly 18 places the restriction on the range of angles of light that are ultimately collected by the detector or CCD camera 48.
Image contrast may be achieved in a number of ways. It may arise from light reflected or scattered by the sample. In fluorescence microscopy, the image
contrast may arise from fluorescent light excited at one or more wavelengths and detected in corresponding detection bands at longer wavelengths than each excitation wavelength. Alternatively, the image contrast may arise from differences in the fluorescence lifetime of the sample.
The fluorescence may originate from single individually-resolvable molecules. The fluorescence of the molecules may be switched on or off through any photoactivation or photo-switching mechanism, which may be controlled by illumination of the sample at one or more additional wavelengths.
In alternative embodiments, the image contrast may arise from the polarization state of the reflected or scattered light, or the polarization state of the emitted fluorescence.
Although the second optical subassembly 18 may be produced as a distinct set of optical components (e.g. lenses 38 and 40), in alternative embodiments the second optical subassembly 18 may share common optical components with parts of the first optical subassembly 17, whilst also achieving the same level of compensation against aberrations. One example of such an alternative embodiment produces magnified image 47 rather than image 42, and involves placing an obliquely angled mirror along the plane indicated by a solid line 44 at the intermediate focal plane (image 36), resulting in image 47 (Image 3') being produced (via mirror 45 and lens 46). The angle of the mirror at the intermediate focal plane is half the angle of the slope of the oblique plane being imaged. Mirror 45 may also consist of a larger partially reflective mirror that covers the whole back aperture of lens 34.
The concept of using a second optical subassembly 18 at an angle to a first optical subassembly 17, as described above, may be used separately from the
concept of a common objective lens 26 for directing the illumination and collected beams at 90° to one another, and vice versa.
Figures 4 and 5 illustrate laboratory prototypes of embodiments of the invention. In essence, the optical arrangements in Figures 4 and 5 function in the same way as that of Figure 3 as described above. However, being laboratory prototypes, the arrangements of Figures 4 and 5 provide additional practical details that are useful for putting the present invention into practice.
The components in Figures 4 and 5 have been allocated the following reference symbols:
L - spherical lens
C - cylindrical lens fx - focal length of lens x FPx - focal plane of lens x
BFPx - back focal plane of lens x
D - dichroic filter
EM - emission filter
In Figure 4, the angle of the illumination 22 can be controlled by translating the slit 23. The thickness of the 'sheet' illumination at lens 26 can be controlled by changing the width of the slit 23.
Figure 4 shows a fluorescent sphere as the object at the focus of lens 26. The stripe indicates the region where fluorescence is excited. The subsequent images 30, 36 and 42 (at lenses 28, 34 and 40) indicate how the image of the object is distorted (these images are not to scale and serve only to illustrate the distortion).
In Figure 5 the optical configuration has been made more light efficient, as less of the excitation light 22 is blocked by the slit 23. The angle of the illumination can be controlled by the angle of mirror Ml. As before, the width of the 'sheet' illumination at lens 26 can be controlled by changing the width of the slit 23.
An alternative method for providing the illumination sheet is to couple the illumination beam through the whole of the first optical subassembly 17, using an optical configuration such as the one shown in Figure 6. Light from a laser 80 (or other illumination source) may be focused by a cylindrical lens 82 to produce a sheet of illumination in the focal plane of lens 34. This illumination sheet is then relayed through the first optical subassembly 17 to create a sheet of illumination at the sample 12.
A slit 81 may be used to adjust the width of the laser beam and hence the thickness of the illumination sheet. Other arrangements to adjust the position and width of the illumination sheet may be employed, as will be known by those skilled in the art. The optical axis of the illumination beam path 84 is preferably placed at an angle of 90° to the axis of the second optical subassembly 18.
The advantage of this arrangement is that all of the optical components required for oblique plane microscopy can then be placed outside the body of a 'conventional' microscope 90. For fluorescence microscopy, it would be necessary to add a fluorescence emission filter 85 into the beam path of the second optical subassembly 18 in order to prevent any excitation light reaching the detector 48.
In some cases, it may be advantageous to mount the components defining the illumination beam path 84 and the second optical subassembly 18 on the same mechanical platform. This will allow the illumination beam path 84 and the second optical subassembly 18 to be translated together in one or more dimensions using manual or motorized actuator(s). As the illumination and detection beam paths (84, 18) are accurately relayed to the sample 12 by the first optical subassembly 17, movement of the illumination and detection beam paths (84, 18) together will cause the plane illuminated and imaged to be moved through the sample 12. This movement of the illumination and detection beam paths (84, 18) can be achieved without affecting or moving the sample itself, and so will not perturb or cause vibrations in the sample 12.
In many situations conventional microscopes (e.g. 90) are fitted with several different microscope objectives. However, in oblique plane microscopy it is necessary to ensure that the correct magnification is obtained between the sample 12 and the intermediate image 36. When the microscope objective 26 is exchanged for one of a different magnification it is possible to employ a mechanical system that also changes the effective focal length of lens 32 at the same time, thus maintaining the correct desired overall magnification within the first optical subassembly 17. It may also be necessary to move other optical components at the same time in order to achieve the necessary path lengths, i.e. to maintain the correct separation between lens 32 and lens 34 and subsequent optical components. This can be achieved by mounting elements 84, 18 and 34 all on the same mechanical platform and translating them together. The same effect could be achieved in other ways that will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
It is also possible to insert an image rotating prism, e.g. a Dove prism or such like, immediately behind the back aperture of the objective lens 26 in order to
change the orientation of the oblique illumination plane and the obliquely imaged plane in the sample simultaneously, without the need to physically rotate relatively large parts of the apparatus.
Optical arrangements according to embodiments of the present invention may be used to image static samples, or may be employed to image particles or cells flowing through the oblique image plane, e.g. in a microfluidic device. Such particles or cells may be intentionally flowed through the oblique image plane, as part of the imaging procedure.
An optical arrangement embodying the present invention may be integrated in a microscope, or provided as a "bolt-on" attachment for an existing microscope. Indeed, a conventional microscope could be used to provide the functionality of the first microscope part 14, provided a sufficiently high NA objective lens 26 is employed. The optical arrangement may be combined with an electronically-controlled stage for positioning the sample or for moving the sample in one or more directions. By scanning the sample in one or more directions it is then possible to build up a 3D image of the sample.
Embodiments of the invention could be extended to exploit the possibility of patterning the excitation sheet illumination in the plane of the illumination sheet. More explicitly, it is possible to pattern the excitation in the direction that is both perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the excitation beam and parallel to the plane of the illumination. For example, illuminating the back aperture of lens 26 in the fashion depicted in Figure 7 would lead to a sinusoidal patterning of the illumination sheet (i.e. effectively a sinusoidal grating). By varying or modulating this patterned illumination, acquiring multiple images at different modulations (grating positions) and then applying image processing techniques, it would be possible to achieve an enhanced
resolution in the direction perpendicular to the grating pattern without compromising the thickness of the thin sheet of illumination. This technique may be termed "resolution enhancement though structured illumination".
Summary of advantages of oblique plane microscopy (OPM)
• conventional sample preparation techniques, e.g. glass microscope slides, may be used
• minimal photobleaching and phototoxicity of the sample no side-lobes or pedestal on the 'axial' point spread function (e.g. as does occur for Nipkow disc microscopy)
• no moving parts required to obtain a 2D image - good for imaging dynamics
• no calculation required to get sectioned image
• can be a "bolt-on" to existing microscopes • good for 3D imaging when combined with a motorized xy-stage to position the sample
Comments on some prior art methods for imaging an oblique plane
The principle of imaging an oblique plane in a sample per se is not new and, for example, is the subject of WO 03/027644 Al, US 5,715,081 and US 2006/0007531 Al. However, all of these methods make use of a dispersive element, such as a prism or a diffraction grating, to achieve the tilted or oblique image plane. The use of such dispersive elements requires the use of lenses with very low chromatic aberration in order to be able to achieve a high quality final image. The technique presented here is novel inter alia in that no dispersive element is required. Also, in the technique presented here, only a part of the available numerical aperture of the objective lens is used to image the sample at an oblique angle, while another part of the lens is used to illuminate the sample at a different angle.
Appendix
Figure 8 is a diagram showing the angular distribution of beams at the sample. The geometry of Figure 8 is as follows:
Excitation and detection rays intersect at 90° at the sample, θ = half angle subtended by lens φex = half angle of excitation rays φem = half angle of emission rays
The numerical aperture of the objective lens is defined as:
NA = n sin θ
One definition of the resolution of a lens is that of the Rayleigh criterion, d = 0.61λ / « sin θ where d is the position of the first minimum of the point spread function relative to the maximum.
In order that the excitation and emission rays intersect at 90° then the following condition must be satisfied: φem = 2θ - φex- π/2
As an example, for a lens with NA = 1.2 (water, n = 1.33) then θ = 65° (diens = 0.3 μm). If φex = 10° then φem = 30° and dgX = dz = 1.8 μm, which is an estimate of the thickness of the illumination sheet, i.e. 'z' resolution. Also, dem = dx = dy = 0.46 μm, which is an estimate of the resolution achieved in the plane of the sheet illumination, i.e. the 'x' and 'y' resolution.
The range over which the sheet illumination remains thin is determined by the divergence of the illumination beam, which is given by the Rayleigh length:
then, for this example, Zr = 5 μm. The confocal parameter is given by Izx, which equals 10 μm in this example. Decreasing φex will increase the confocal parameter at the expense of increasing the thickness of the illumination sheet (or 'z' resolution).
Figure 9 sketches how the excitation and detection rays occupy the back aperture of the microscope objective 26.
References
[1] E.H.K. Stelzer et al, Microscope with a viewing direction perpendicular to the illumination direction, US 2006/0033987
[2] E.H.K. Stelzer, Single plane illumination microscope, US 2007/0109633 [3] A.H. Voie et al, Orthogonal-plane fluorescence optical sectioning: three-dimensional imaging of macroscopic biological specimens, J.
Microscopy 170(3), pp. 229-236, 1993
[4] E. Fuchs, J. S. Jaffe, R. A. Long, and F. Azam, Opt. Express 10, pp.
145, 2002 [5] J. Huisken, J. Swoger, F. Del Bene, J. Wittbrodt, and E. H. K. Stelzer,
Science 305, pp. 1007, 2004
[6] M. Tokunaga et al, Highly inclined thin illumination enables clear single-molecule imaging in cells, Nature Methods 5(2) pp. 159-161, 2008 [7] C A. Konopka and S. Y. Bednarek, Variable-angle epifluorescence microscopy: a new way to look at protein dynamics in the plant cell cortex, The Plant Journal 58, pp. 186-196, 2008
[8] EJ. Botcherby et al, Aberration-free optical refocusing in high numerical aperture microscopy, Optics Letters 32(14), 2007
Claims
1. An optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy comprising: a first optical subassembly, including an objective lens arranged to receive light from a sample in use, and configured to produce an intermediate image of the sample; and a second optical subassembly focused on the intermediate image, the optical axis of the second optical subassembly being at an angle to the optical axis of the first optical subassembly at the point of the intermediate image, such that the second optical subassembly images an oblique plane in the intermediate image, corresponding to an oblique plane in the sample.
2. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the first optical subassembly comprises a first part arranged to produce a magnified image of the sample, and a second part arranged to de- magnify the image obtained from the first part and thereby form the intermediate image.
3. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the first optical subassembly is configured to produce the intermediate image with a magnification of unity in both the lateral and axial directions.
4. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein, if the sample is placed in a first immersion medium having a refractive index nls or the intermediate image is formed in a second immersion medium having a refractive index n2, then the first optical subassembly is configured to produce the intermediate image with a magnification of M in both the lateral and axial directions, where M is equal to the ratio (nj/n2) of the refractive indices of the first and second immersion media.
5. An optical arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the first and second optical subassemblies share common optical components.
6. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 5, further comprising a plane mirror at the focus of the second part of the first optical subassembly.
7. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the numerical aperture of the first optical subassembly is greater than the numerical aperture of the second optical subassembly.
8. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the said objective lens has a high numerical aperture.
9. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a light source arranged to provide an incident beam of light to illuminate or excite an oblique plane in the sample, the oblique plane illuminated/excited corresponding to the oblique plane being imaged.
10. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 9 when dependent on Claim 8, wherein the incident beam of light is directed through the said objective lens.
11. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the incident beam of light is directed through the said objective lens such that it is incident on the sample at an angle of substantially 90° relative to the beam of light received from the sample through the said objective lens.
12. An optical arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 9, 10 or 11, wherein the incident beam of light is directed along the whole of the first optical subassembly.
13. An optical arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 9 to 12, wherein the components defining the illumination beam path and the second optical subassembly are mounted on a common platform.
14. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 13, further comprising actuation means for translating the components defining the illumination beam path and the second optical subassembly together.
15. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising means for changing the magnification of the said objective lens, and means for changing one or more optical components elsewhere in the optical arrangement in correspondence with the change in magnification of the said objective lens, so as to maintain a desired overall magnification within the first optical subassembly.
16. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising an image rotating prism such as a Dove prism behind the said objective lens.
17. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, arranged such that the image contrast arises from light reflected or scattered by the sample.
18. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 17, arranged such that the image contrast arises from the polarization state of the reflected or scattered light.
19. An optical arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 16, arranged such that the image contrast arises from fluorescent light emitted from the sample.
20. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 19, wherein the fluorescent light is excited at one or more wavelengths and detected in corresponding detection bands at longer wavelengths than each excitation wavelength.
21. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 19 or Claim 20, wherein the fluorescent light is generated by a single photon excitation process.
22. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 19, wherein the fluorescent light is excited at one or more wavelengths and detected in corresponding detection bands at shorter wavelengths than each excitation wavelength.
23. An optical arrangement as claimed in Claim 19 or Claim 22, wherein the fluorescent light is generated by a multiphoton excitation process.
24. An optical arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 19 to 23, wherein the image contrast arises from differences in the fluorescence lifetime of the sample.
25. An optical arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 19 to 23, arranged such that the image contrast arises from the polarization state of the emitted fluorescence.
26. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, arranged to image particles or cells flowing through the oblique image plane, for example in a microfluidic device.
27. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, in combination with an electronically-controlled stage for positioning the sample or for moving the sample in one or more directions.
28. An optical arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the second optical subassembly is arranged to have a combination of both a long working distance and a high numerical aperture.
29. A method of performing oblique plane microscopy comprising: receiving light from a sample via a first optical subassembly and producing an intermediate image of the sample; and focusing a second optical subassembly on the intermediate image, the optical axis of the second optical subassembly being at an angle to the optical axis of the first optical subassembly at the point of the intermediate image, such that the second optical subassembly images an oblique plane in the intermediate image, corresponding to an oblique plane in the sample.
30. A method as claimed in Claim 29, further comprising producing a magnified image of the sample in a first part of the first optical subassembly, and de-magnifying that image in a second part of the first optical subassembly and thereby forming the intermediate image.
31. A method as claimed in Claim 29 or Claim 30, wherein the first optical subassembly is configured to produce the intermediate image with a magnification of unity in both the lateral and axial directions.
32. A method as claimed in Claim 29 or Claim 30 wherein, if the sample is placed in a first immersion medium having a refractive index n1? or the intermediate image is formed in a second immersion medium having a refractive index n2, then the first optical subassembly is configured to produce the intermediate image with a magnification of M in both the lateral and axial directions, where M is equal to the ratio Cn1Zn2) of the refractive indices of the first and second immersion media.
33. A method as claimed in any of Claims 29 to 32, further comprising directing an incident beam of light to illuminate or excite an oblique plane in the sample, the oblique plane illuminated/excited corresponding to the oblique plane being imaged.
34. A method as claimed in Claim 33, wherein the incident beam of light is directed through the same objective lens as that which is used to receive light from the sample.
35. A method as claimed in Claim 34, wherein the incident beam of light is directed through the said objective lens such that it is incident on the sample at an angle of substantially 90° relative to the beam of light received from the sample through the said objective lens.
36. A method as claimed in any of Claims 33, 34 or 35, further comprising directing the incident beam of light along the whole of the first optical subassembly.
37. A method as claimed in any of Claims 33 to 36, wherein the components defining the illumination beam path and the second optical subassembly are mounted on a common platform.
38. A method as claimed in Claim 37, further comprising translating the components defining the illumination beam path and the second optical subassembly together.
39. A method as claimed in any of Claims 29 to 38, further comprising changing the magnification of the objective lens, and changing one or more optical components elsewhere in the optical arrangement in correspondence with the change in magnification of the objective lens, so as to maintain a desired overall magnification within the first optical subassembly.
40. A method as claimed in any of Claims 29 to 39, further comprising operating an image rotating prism such as a Dove prism behind the said objective lens.
41. A method as claimed in any of Claims 29 to 40, wherein the image contrast arises from light reflected or scattered by the sample.
42. A method as claimed in Claim 41, wherein the image contrast arises from the polarization state of the reflected or scattered light.
43. A method as claimed in any of Claims 29 to 40, wherein the image contrast arises from fluorescent light emitted from the sample.
44. A method as claimed in Claim 43, wherein the fluorescent light is excited at one or more wavelengths and detected in corresponding detection bands at longer wavelengths than each excitation wavelength.
45. A method as claimed in Claim 43 or Claim 44, wherein the fluorescent light is generated by a single photon excitation process.
46. A method as claimed in Claim 43, wherein the fluorescent light is excited at one or more wavelengths and detected in corresponding detection bands at shorter wavelengths than each excitation wavelength.
47. A method as claimed in Claim 43 or Claim 46, wherein the fluorescent light is generated by a multiphoton excitation process.
48. A method as claimed in any of Claims 43 to 47, wherein the image contrast arises from differences in the fluorescence lifetime of the sample.
49. A method as claimed in any of Claims 43 to 47, wherein the image contrast arises from the polarization state of the emitted fluorescence.
50. A method as claimed in any of Claims 43 to 49, wherein the fluorescence originates from single individually-resolvable molecules.
51. A method as claimed in Claim 50, further comprising adjusting the number of fluorescent molecules in the sample by activating or deactivating the fluorescence via a photoactivation or photo-switching mechanism.
52. A method as claimed in Claim 51, wherein the photoactivation or photo- switching mechanism is controlled by illumination of the sample at one or more additional wavelengths.
53. A method as claimed in any of Claims 41 to 52, further comprising modifying the excitation sheet so that it is exhibits a more complex form such as a sinusoidal grating.
54. A method as claimed in Claim 53, further comprising modulating the position or phase of the complex illumination and acquiring a plurality of images at different modulations.
55. A method of performing oblique plane microscopy comprising directing an incident beam of light through an objective lens to illuminate or excite an oblique plane in a sample, and receiving light from the sample through the same objective lens, wherein the incident beam of light is incident on the sample at an angle of substantially 90° relative to the beam of light received from the sample.
56. A microscope comprising an optical arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 28, or which is configured for performing a method as claimed in any of Claims 29 to 55.
57. An optical arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in any combination of the accompanying drawings.
58. A method of performing oblique plane microscopy substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in any combination of the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP09784754.5A EP2316048B1 (en) | 2008-07-31 | 2009-07-20 | Optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy |
US13/056,345 US8582203B2 (en) | 2008-07-31 | 2009-07-20 | Optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy |
EP20156593.4A EP3742216A1 (en) | 2008-07-31 | 2009-07-20 | Optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GBGB0814039.4A GB0814039D0 (en) | 2008-07-31 | 2008-07-31 | Optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy |
GB0814039.4 | 2008-07-31 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2010012980A1 true WO2010012980A1 (en) | 2010-02-04 |
Family
ID=39767317
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB2009/001802 WO2010012980A1 (en) | 2008-07-31 | 2009-07-20 | Optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US8582203B2 (en) |
EP (2) | EP2316048B1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB0814039D0 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2010012980A1 (en) |
Cited By (21)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE102011000835A1 (en) | 2011-02-21 | 2012-08-23 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope and method for light microscopic imaging of an object |
DE202011110077U1 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2012-11-29 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Arrangement for illuminating a sample |
EP2535754A1 (en) | 2011-06-14 | 2012-12-19 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Sampling microscope and method for imaging an object using a light microscope |
EP2587295A1 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2013-05-01 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Method and device for illuminating a sample |
WO2014063764A1 (en) * | 2012-10-23 | 2014-05-01 | Karlsruher Institut für Technologie | Microscope with at least one illuminating beam in the form of a light sheet |
DE102013019951A1 (en) | 2013-11-27 | 2015-05-28 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Light microscope and microscopy method for examining a plurality of microscopic objects |
CN105765438A (en) * | 2013-11-25 | 2016-07-13 | 欧洲分子生物学实验室 | Optical arrangement for imaging a sample |
WO2017167911A1 (en) * | 2016-03-30 | 2017-10-05 | Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Stiftung Öffentlichen Rechts, Universitätsmedizin | Method for generating a microscopic image |
WO2018033581A1 (en) * | 2016-08-15 | 2018-02-22 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light sheet microscope |
WO2018041988A1 (en) * | 2016-09-01 | 2018-03-08 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Microscope for observing individual illuminated inclined planes with a microlens array |
WO2018069170A1 (en) * | 2016-10-10 | 2018-04-19 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Oblique plane microscope |
WO2019016238A1 (en) * | 2017-07-20 | 2019-01-24 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light sheet microscopy method for generating a volume image of a sample, and light sheet microscope |
EP3198323B1 (en) | 2014-09-24 | 2020-01-29 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH | Device for imaging a sample |
EP3528030A4 (en) * | 2016-10-11 | 2020-05-27 | Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. | Sample observation device and sample observation method |
EP3516440B1 (en) | 2016-09-19 | 2020-11-25 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Microscope system |
WO2021058939A1 (en) | 2019-09-23 | 2021-04-01 | Imperial College Innovations Limited | Improved oblique plane microscopy |
WO2021198129A1 (en) * | 2020-03-30 | 2021-10-07 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Optical assembly for an inclined-plane microscope for improving the resolution |
EP3907548A1 (en) | 2020-05-04 | 2021-11-10 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Light sheet microscope and method for imaging an object |
DE102020128524A1 (en) | 2020-10-29 | 2022-05-05 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Light sheet microscope and method of light sheet microscopy |
WO2023057348A1 (en) | 2021-10-05 | 2023-04-13 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Sample carrier and method for imaging a sample |
WO2023057349A1 (en) | 2021-10-05 | 2023-04-13 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Imaging system and method |
Families Citing this family (39)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP5829030B2 (en) * | 2011-03-23 | 2015-12-09 | オリンパス株式会社 | microscope |
US8994941B2 (en) | 2012-11-28 | 2015-03-31 | General Electric Company | Optical system, apparatus and method for performing flow cytometry |
DE102013001238B4 (en) * | 2013-01-25 | 2020-06-10 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Light microscope and microscopy method |
DE102013205115A1 (en) * | 2013-03-22 | 2014-09-25 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | SPIM arrangement |
US9874736B2 (en) * | 2013-04-29 | 2018-01-23 | The Regents Of The University Of California | Apparatus and method for an inclined single plane imaging microscope box (iSPIM box) |
DE102013105586B4 (en) * | 2013-05-30 | 2023-10-12 | Carl Zeiss Ag | Device for imaging a sample |
FR3010194B1 (en) * | 2013-08-28 | 2017-10-27 | Imagine Optic | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRENCH LIGHT MICROSCOPY |
DE102013112600A1 (en) * | 2013-11-15 | 2015-05-21 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Optical transmission system and microscope with such a transmission system |
DE102013112596B4 (en) * | 2013-11-15 | 2023-12-28 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Arrangement for light sheet microscopy |
DE102013112595B4 (en) * | 2013-11-15 | 2024-08-01 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Arrangement for light sheet microscopy |
US9823457B2 (en) * | 2014-01-08 | 2017-11-21 | The Regents Of The University Of California | Multiplane optical microscope |
SG11201607118PA (en) * | 2014-02-26 | 2016-09-29 | Brigham & Womens Hospital | System and method for cell levitation and monitoring |
DE102016103182B4 (en) * | 2016-02-23 | 2018-04-12 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light sheet microscope and method for light microscopic imaging of a sample |
LU93021B1 (en) | 2016-04-08 | 2017-11-08 | Leica Microsystems | Method and microscope for examining a sample |
DE102016108384B3 (en) | 2016-05-04 | 2017-11-09 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Device and method for light sheet-like illumination of a sample |
EP3465316A1 (en) | 2016-06-03 | 2019-04-10 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Light sheet microscope and microscopic method using a light sheet microscope |
AU2017281533B2 (en) * | 2016-06-24 | 2019-06-27 | Howard Hughes Medical Institute | Automated adjustment of light sheet geometry in a microscope |
WO2018033582A1 (en) | 2016-08-15 | 2018-02-22 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light sheet microscope |
DE102016115140B4 (en) | 2016-08-16 | 2022-07-28 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Changing system for a microscope and microscope |
WO2018050888A1 (en) | 2016-09-16 | 2018-03-22 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light microscope |
WO2018052905A1 (en) | 2016-09-16 | 2018-03-22 | The Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York | Three-dimensional imaging using swept, confocally aligned planar excitation and a customized image splitter |
EP3538941A4 (en) | 2016-11-10 | 2020-06-17 | The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York | Rapid high-resolution imaging methods for large samples |
WO2018199080A1 (en) | 2017-04-28 | 2018-11-01 | シンクサイト株式会社 | Imaging flow cytometer |
WO2019012776A1 (en) | 2017-07-11 | 2019-01-17 | 浜松ホトニクス株式会社 | Sample observation device and sample observation method |
US11353402B2 (en) * | 2017-07-11 | 2022-06-07 | Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. | Sample observation device and sample observation method |
JP7007122B2 (en) | 2017-07-11 | 2022-01-24 | 浜松ホトニクス株式会社 | Sample observation device and sample observation method |
US11885946B2 (en) | 2018-01-26 | 2024-01-30 | University Of Washington | Apparatuses and methods for multi-direction digital scanned light sheet microscopy |
EP3745943A4 (en) * | 2018-01-31 | 2022-04-27 | The Regents of University of California | High numerical aperture selective plane illumination microscopy |
JP2022522016A (en) * | 2019-02-27 | 2022-04-13 | カリコ ライフ サイエンシーズ エルエルシー | Slope microscopy system and method |
DE102019109832B3 (en) | 2019-04-12 | 2020-04-23 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light sheet microscope and method for acquiring a measured variable |
CN114303086A (en) * | 2019-08-27 | 2022-04-08 | 莱卡微系统Cms有限责任公司 | Apparatus and method for imaging an object |
US20220317429A1 (en) | 2019-09-02 | 2022-10-06 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Microscope and method for imaging an object using a microscope |
DE102019128681A1 (en) | 2019-10-23 | 2021-04-29 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Optical system for a light sheet microscope |
WO2021139889A1 (en) | 2020-01-09 | 2021-07-15 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Oblique plane microscope and method for correcting an aberration in an oblique plane microscope |
EP3893039B1 (en) | 2020-04-09 | 2023-08-23 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Oblique plane microscope for imaging a sample |
EP3945358B1 (en) | 2020-07-30 | 2024-04-24 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Oblique plane microscope and method for operating the same |
US20230175949A1 (en) | 2020-09-10 | 2023-06-08 | The University Of Tokyo | Imaging flow cytometer |
CN113310964B (en) * | 2021-06-02 | 2022-04-05 | 华中科技大学 | Digital scanning optical sheet microscopic imaging system compatible with microfluidic chip |
WO2024009818A1 (en) * | 2022-07-06 | 2024-01-11 | 国立大学法人北海道大学 | Fluorescence microscope |
Citations (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3547512A (en) * | 1968-04-16 | 1970-12-15 | Research Corp | Optical apparatus providing focalplane-specific illumination |
US4478482A (en) * | 1981-05-11 | 1984-10-23 | Koester Charles J | Axial scanning optical system and method of examining an object plane |
US5715081A (en) * | 1994-09-14 | 1998-02-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Oblique viewing microscope system |
US20030027367A1 (en) * | 2001-07-16 | 2003-02-06 | August Technology Corp. | Confocal 3D inspection system and process |
WO2003027644A1 (en) * | 2001-09-24 | 2003-04-03 | Kla-Tencor, Inc. | Systems and methods for forming an image of a specimen at an oblique viewing angle |
US20060007531A1 (en) * | 2002-09-30 | 2006-01-12 | Doron Korengut | Inspection system with oblique viewing angle |
WO2008078083A1 (en) | 2006-12-22 | 2008-07-03 | Isis Innovation Limited | Focusing apparatus and method |
Family Cites Families (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE754979C (en) * | 1941-11-06 | 1954-07-19 | Zeiss Carl Fa | Electron microscope with an observation device arranged at an angle to the axis of the electron beam bundle for viewing the luminescent screen image |
US5671085A (en) * | 1995-02-03 | 1997-09-23 | The Regents Of The University Of California | Method and apparatus for three-dimensional microscopy with enhanced depth resolution |
US5793525A (en) * | 1995-09-22 | 1998-08-11 | Leica Inc. | Apparatus for adjusting the viewing angle of a microscope |
DE10257423A1 (en) | 2002-12-09 | 2004-06-24 | Europäisches Laboratorium für Molekularbiologie (EMBL) | Microscope used in molecular biology comprises a focussing arrangement producing an extended planar object illumination region, a detection device, and a movement arrangement |
DE10332073A1 (en) * | 2003-07-11 | 2005-02-10 | Carl Zeiss Jena Gmbh | Arrangement for the optical detection of light radiation with double objective arrangement excited and / or backscattered in a sample |
JP2005337940A (en) * | 2004-05-28 | 2005-12-08 | Aisin Seiki Co Ltd | Surface plasmon resonator |
DE102004034967A1 (en) * | 2004-07-16 | 2006-02-02 | Carl Zeiss Jena Gmbh | Illumination device for a light-scanning microscope with point-shaped light source distribution |
US7570362B2 (en) * | 2007-09-28 | 2009-08-04 | Olympus Corporation | Optical measurement apparatus utilizing total reflection |
DE102007051405B4 (en) * | 2007-10-25 | 2014-03-20 | Leica Instruments (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. | light microscope |
DE102009044984A1 (en) * | 2009-09-24 | 2011-03-31 | Carl Zeiss Microimaging Gmbh | microscope |
-
2008
- 2008-07-31 GB GBGB0814039.4A patent/GB0814039D0/en not_active Ceased
-
2009
- 2009-07-20 EP EP09784754.5A patent/EP2316048B1/en active Active
- 2009-07-20 EP EP20156593.4A patent/EP3742216A1/en active Pending
- 2009-07-20 US US13/056,345 patent/US8582203B2/en active Active
- 2009-07-20 WO PCT/GB2009/001802 patent/WO2010012980A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3547512A (en) * | 1968-04-16 | 1970-12-15 | Research Corp | Optical apparatus providing focalplane-specific illumination |
US4478482A (en) * | 1981-05-11 | 1984-10-23 | Koester Charles J | Axial scanning optical system and method of examining an object plane |
US5715081A (en) * | 1994-09-14 | 1998-02-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Oblique viewing microscope system |
US20030027367A1 (en) * | 2001-07-16 | 2003-02-06 | August Technology Corp. | Confocal 3D inspection system and process |
WO2003027644A1 (en) * | 2001-09-24 | 2003-04-03 | Kla-Tencor, Inc. | Systems and methods for forming an image of a specimen at an oblique viewing angle |
US20060007531A1 (en) * | 2002-09-30 | 2006-01-12 | Doron Korengut | Inspection system with oblique viewing angle |
WO2008078083A1 (en) | 2006-12-22 | 2008-07-03 | Isis Innovation Limited | Focusing apparatus and method |
Cited By (59)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE102011000835B4 (en) * | 2011-02-21 | 2014-04-03 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope and method for light microscopic imaging of an object |
WO2012113752A1 (en) | 2011-02-21 | 2012-08-30 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope and method for the light-microscopic imaging of an object |
DE102011000835A1 (en) | 2011-02-21 | 2012-08-23 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope and method for light microscopic imaging of an object |
US9030734B2 (en) | 2011-02-21 | 2015-05-12 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope, and method for light microscopy imaging of a specimen |
DE102011000835C5 (en) | 2011-02-21 | 2019-08-22 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope and method for light microscopic imaging of an object |
JP2014508326A (en) * | 2011-02-21 | 2014-04-03 | ライカ マイクロシステムス ツェーエムエス ゲーエムベーハー | Scanning microscope and method for optical microscope image formation of samples |
DE102011051042A1 (en) | 2011-06-14 | 2012-12-20 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope and method for light microscopic imaging of an object |
US8472113B2 (en) | 2011-06-14 | 2013-06-25 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope and method for light-microscopic imaging of an object |
EP2535754A1 (en) | 2011-06-14 | 2012-12-19 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Sampling microscope and method for imaging an object using a light microscope |
CN102830488A (en) * | 2011-06-14 | 2012-12-19 | 徕卡显微系统复合显微镜有限公司 | Sampling microscope and method for imaging an object using a light microscope |
DE102011051042B4 (en) * | 2011-06-14 | 2016-04-28 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope and method for light microscopic imaging of an object |
JP2013003585A (en) * | 2011-06-14 | 2013-01-07 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Scanning microscope and method for imaging object with optical microscope |
CN103091825A (en) * | 2011-10-28 | 2013-05-08 | 莱卡微系统Cms有限责任公司 | Method and system for illuminating a sample |
JP2013097380A (en) * | 2011-10-28 | 2013-05-20 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Method and system for illuminating sample |
EP2587295A1 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2013-05-01 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Method and device for illuminating a sample |
DE102012109577A1 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2013-05-02 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Arrangement for illuminating sample in selective plane illumination microscope, has light source for generating light beam and unit for generating light strip from light beam, particularly for planar-like illumination of sample |
DE102011054914A1 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2013-05-02 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Method and arrangement for illuminating a sample |
GB2509664A (en) * | 2011-10-28 | 2014-07-09 | Leica Microsystems | Arrangement for use in the illumination of a specimen in spim microscopy |
WO2013060644A1 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2013-05-02 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Arrangement for use in the illumination of a specimen in spim microscopy |
GB2509664B (en) * | 2011-10-28 | 2018-10-03 | Leica Microsystems | Arrangement for use in the illumination of a specimen in SPIM microscopy |
DE202011110077U1 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2012-11-29 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Arrangement for illuminating a sample |
US9104020B2 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2015-08-11 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Method and system for illuminating a sample |
US9772481B2 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2017-09-26 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Arrangement for use in the illumination of a specimen in SPIM microscopy |
WO2014063764A1 (en) * | 2012-10-23 | 2014-05-01 | Karlsruher Institut für Technologie | Microscope with at least one illuminating beam in the form of a light sheet |
EP2912510A1 (en) * | 2012-10-23 | 2015-09-02 | Karlsruher Institut für Technologie | Microscope with at least one illuminating beam in the form of a light sheet |
US9829691B2 (en) | 2012-10-23 | 2017-11-28 | Karlsruher Institut Fuer Technologie | Microscope with at least one illuminating beam in the form of a light sheet |
CN105765438A (en) * | 2013-11-25 | 2016-07-13 | 欧洲分子生物学实验室 | Optical arrangement for imaging a sample |
WO2015078633A1 (en) | 2013-11-27 | 2015-06-04 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Light microscope having internal focus lens and microscopy method for examining a plurality of microscopic objects |
DE102013019951B4 (en) | 2013-11-27 | 2023-06-15 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Light microscope and microscopy method for examining multiple microscopic objects |
DE102013019951A1 (en) | 2013-11-27 | 2015-05-28 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Light microscope and microscopy method for examining a plurality of microscopic objects |
US10634888B2 (en) | 2013-11-27 | 2020-04-28 | Max-Planck-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Wissenschaften E. V. | Light microscope with inner focusing objective and microscopy method for examining a plurality of microscopic objects |
US10422983B2 (en) | 2013-11-27 | 2019-09-24 | Max-Planck-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Wissenschaften E. V. | Light microscope with inner focusing objective and microscopy method for examining a plurality of microscopic objects |
EP3198323B2 (en) † | 2014-09-24 | 2023-03-08 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH | Device for imaging a sample |
EP3198323B1 (en) | 2014-09-24 | 2020-01-29 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH | Device for imaging a sample |
WO2017167911A1 (en) * | 2016-03-30 | 2017-10-05 | Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Stiftung Öffentlichen Rechts, Universitätsmedizin | Method for generating a microscopic image |
WO2018033581A1 (en) * | 2016-08-15 | 2018-02-22 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light sheet microscope |
US10983327B2 (en) | 2016-08-15 | 2021-04-20 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light sheet microscope |
WO2018041988A1 (en) * | 2016-09-01 | 2018-03-08 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Microscope for observing individual illuminated inclined planes with a microlens array |
EP3516440B1 (en) | 2016-09-19 | 2020-11-25 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Microscope system |
EP3516440B2 (en) † | 2016-09-19 | 2023-08-23 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Microscope system |
US11500190B2 (en) | 2016-10-10 | 2022-11-15 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Oblique plane microscope |
JP2019531511A (en) * | 2016-10-10 | 2019-10-31 | ライカ マイクロシステムズ シーエムエス ゲゼルシャフト ミット ベシュレンクテル ハフツングLeica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Slope microscope |
CN109804293A (en) * | 2016-10-10 | 2019-05-24 | 莱卡微系统Cms有限责任公司 | Inclined-plane microscope |
WO2018069170A1 (en) * | 2016-10-10 | 2018-04-19 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Oblique plane microscope |
CN109804293B (en) * | 2016-10-10 | 2021-08-06 | 莱卡微系统Cms有限责任公司 | Inclined plane microscope |
US11131839B2 (en) | 2016-10-11 | 2021-09-28 | Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. | Sample observation device and sample observation method |
US11822066B2 (en) | 2016-10-11 | 2023-11-21 | Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. | Sample observation device and sample observation method |
US11391934B2 (en) | 2016-10-11 | 2022-07-19 | Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. | Sample observation device and sample observation method |
US10809509B2 (en) | 2016-10-11 | 2020-10-20 | Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. | Sample observation device and sample observation method |
EP3528030A4 (en) * | 2016-10-11 | 2020-05-27 | Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. | Sample observation device and sample observation method |
WO2019016238A1 (en) * | 2017-07-20 | 2019-01-24 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light sheet microscopy method for generating a volume image of a sample, and light sheet microscope |
WO2021058939A1 (en) | 2019-09-23 | 2021-04-01 | Imperial College Innovations Limited | Improved oblique plane microscopy |
EP4034931A1 (en) * | 2019-09-23 | 2022-08-03 | Imperial College Innovations Limited | Improved oblique plane microscopy |
WO2021198129A1 (en) * | 2020-03-30 | 2021-10-07 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Optical assembly for an inclined-plane microscope for improving the resolution |
US11598944B2 (en) | 2020-05-04 | 2023-03-07 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Light sheet microscope and method for imaging an object |
EP3907548A1 (en) | 2020-05-04 | 2021-11-10 | Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH | Light sheet microscope and method for imaging an object |
DE102020128524A1 (en) | 2020-10-29 | 2022-05-05 | Carl Zeiss Microscopy Gmbh | Light sheet microscope and method of light sheet microscopy |
WO2023057349A1 (en) | 2021-10-05 | 2023-04-13 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Imaging system and method |
WO2023057348A1 (en) | 2021-10-05 | 2023-04-13 | Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh | Sample carrier and method for imaging a sample |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP2316048B1 (en) | 2020-02-12 |
US20110261446A1 (en) | 2011-10-27 |
EP2316048A1 (en) | 2011-05-04 |
EP3742216A1 (en) | 2020-11-25 |
US8582203B2 (en) | 2013-11-12 |
GB0814039D0 (en) | 2008-09-10 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US8582203B2 (en) | Optical arrangement for oblique plane microscopy | |
JP6996048B2 (en) | Wide field high resolution microscope | |
CA2574343C (en) | Method and apparatus for fluorescent confocal microscopy | |
JP5006694B2 (en) | Lighting device | |
US7554664B2 (en) | Laser scanning microscope | |
US9804377B2 (en) | Low numerical aperture exclusion imaging | |
US10514533B2 (en) | Method for creating a microscope image, microscopy device, and deflecting device | |
CA3013946A1 (en) | Method and system for improving lateral resolution in optical scanning microscopy | |
JP2007506955A (en) | Scanning microscope with evanescent wave illumination | |
US20080062511A1 (en) | Laser scanning microscope for fluorescence testing | |
JP2006031011A (en) | Light scanning microscope and its use | |
JP2016186635A (en) | Light-scanning system | |
JP2004317741A (en) | Microscope and its optical adjustment method | |
US20120140057A1 (en) | Microscope for Measuring Total Reflection Fluorescence | |
Fuseler et al. | Types of confocal instruments: basic principles and advantages and disadvantages | |
WO2018182526A1 (en) | Apparatus for analysing a specimen | |
US20140293037A1 (en) | Optical microscope and method for examining a microscopic sample | |
US10866396B2 (en) | Illumination arrangement for a light sheet microscope | |
US20230168484A1 (en) | Method and system for multi-view episcopic selective plane illumination microscope | |
US20170280076A1 (en) | Device for imaging a sample | |
JP2009186508A (en) | Long focus depth observation method for optical microscope and optical microscope | |
Tauer et al. | High-resolution imaging of biological samples |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
121 | Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application |
Ref document number: 09784754 Country of ref document: EP Kind code of ref document: A1 |
|
NENP | Non-entry into the national phase |
Ref country code: DE |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 13056345 Country of ref document: US |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 2009784754 Country of ref document: EP |