Liquid Lens Array Microscope

描述（由申请人提供）：我们提出开发下一代高度灵活的光学系统，用于全载玻片扫描仪，以快速生成病理学和细胞学中的虚拟载玻片。该光学系统的主要用途是实现用于临床和研究目的的组织、冷冻组织、组织微阵列（TMA）和细胞学载玻片的超快速和精确成像。该光学系统将允许以NA = 0.65的最小数值孔径在单次扫描中扫描显微镜载玻片，覆盖玻璃载玻片的整个宽度和长度，采样为0.23 μ m。光学系统是基于一个微型显微镜阵列。阵列中的每个显微镜包括可变光焦度液体透镜元件。液体透镜元件是电控制的，并且允许在扫描组织和细胞样本期间每个微型显微镜的单独聚焦。因此，阵列显微镜可以在成像过程中快速持续地重新配置，以生成组织学和细胞学标本的最准确、高质量的图像。长期目标是在不到60秒的时间内以0.23微米的采样（即，相当于40倍放大率）。所提出的液体透镜被设计为快速调整焦点或实现与细胞学载玻片相关的扩展景深成像。第一阶段的项目强调开发一种新型的液体透镜元件和组装的液体透镜阵列显微镜原型。原型的评价强调图像质量作为与液体透镜实现的多个深度处的焦点的函数。图像质量将根据分辨率和失真来衡量。在第二阶段，我们计划完成一个模块化的，“工业”版本的液体透镜阵列显微镜仪器，包括120个微型显微镜的发展。液体透镜技术与DMeetron的超快速自动阵列显微镜技术相结合，代表了推进基于诊断和预后组织的数字病理学分析的关键发展。这种组合的结果将是成本更低，速度更快，精度更高的显微成像设备。该设备将生成高分辨率的数字图像，用于远程医疗，缩短医疗保健，药物开发和计算机辅助诊断。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to develop a next-generation, highly flexible optical system for use in a whole- slide scanner to rapidly generate virtual slides in pathology and cytology. The primary use of this optical system is to enable ultra-rapid and accurate imaging of tissue, frozen-tissue, tissue-microarray (TMA), and cytology glass slides for clinical and research purposes. This optical system will allow scanning a microscope slide in a single sweep at a minimum numerical aperture of NA = 0.65, covering the entire width and length of a glass slide with 0.23-¿m sampling. The optical system is based on an array of miniature microscopes. Each microscope in the array includes a variable-optical-power, liquid-lens element. The liquid-lens elements are controlled electrically and permit the individual focusing of each miniature microscope during scanning of tissue and cell specimens. As a result, the array microscope can rapidly and continually reconfigure itself during imaging to produce the most accurate, high-quality images of histology and cytology specimens. The long-term goal is to image slide-borne specimens in less than 60 seconds at 0.23-¿m sampling (i.e., equivalent to a 40X magnification). The proposed liquid lenses are designed to rapidly adjust focus or to enable extended-depth-of-field imaging relevant for cytology slides. The Phase I project emphasizes development of a novel liquid-lens element and assembly of a liquid-lens array microscope prototype. The evaluation of the prototype emphasizes image quality as a function of focus at multiple depths achieved with the liquid lens. Image quality will be measured in terms of resolution and distortion. In Phase II, we plan to complete development of a modular, "industrial" version of the liquid lens array-microscope instrument including 120 miniature microscopes. Liquid-lens technology, combined with DMetrix's ultra-rapid, automated array-microscope technology, represents a key development in advancing diagnostic and prognostic tissue-based digital-pathology analysis. The result of this combination will be a less costly, fast and highly accurate microscopic imaging device. This device will generate high-resolution digital images for use in telemedicine, reduced turnaround-time healthcare, drug development, and computer-aided diagnosis.