Biochip reader
AssigneeYokogawa Electric Corporation
InventorsTakeo Tanaami, Yumiko Sugiyama
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a biochip reader for reading with a detector the fluorescence image information from genes to which fluorescent substances are stuck and which are poured into biochip cells, by emitting coherent light beams such as laser light onto the cells as excitation light. The present invention aims to achieve a biochip reader that is small, cheap, and highly durable.
Claims16
A biochip reader that reads fluorescence generated from genes of each of its cells by irradiating each cell with coherent light such as laser light as the excitation light;
- comprising
- a rotation plate formed so as to be rotatable, on which a plurality of microlenses is arranged, and
- a two-dimensional detector that detects a fluorescence image of said biochip using detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional manner;
- further configured to rotate said rotation plate, to scan said biochip with light using excitation light beams individually condensed with a said plurality of microlenses, and to individually irradiate each cell.
A biochip reader, configured to irradiate a sample whose surface is flat with excitation light, to form images of fluorescence generated from fluorescent substances in the sample via an image-forming optical system, and to read the images with a detector;
- wherein a barrier filter which acts to transmit fluorescence from said sample surface but to attenuate excitation light reflected from said sample is arranged in said image-forming optical system so that excitation light reflected from said sample is incident to the barrier filter at an incident angle of ±5 degrees or less.
A biochip reader configured to irradiate excitation light to a sample, to form an image of fluorescence generated from fluorescent substances in said sample via an image-forming optical system, and to read that image with a detector;
- wherein the image-forming lens in said image-forming optical system is fabricated as a convex lens, on whose flat side is formed an interfering filter for fluorescence.
A biochip reader configured to irradiate excitation light to a sample, to form an image of fluorescence generated from fluorescent substances in said sample via an image-forming optical system, and to read that image with a detector;
- wherein mixing of excitation light into the detector side is prevented by mounting a mask, that has approximately the same area as that for the diameter of said excitation light beam and masks the excitation light focused with the objective lens, in said image-forming optical system.
A biochip reader configured to irradiate excitation light to a sample, to form an image of fluorescence generated from fluorescent substances in said sample via an image-forming optical system, and to read that image with a detector;
- wherein mixing of excitation light into the detector side is prevented by mounting a mirror, that has approximately the same area as that for the diameter of said excitation light beam and reflects the excitation light focused with the objective lens, in said image-forming optical system.
A transmission type fluorescence reader configured to irradiate excitation light to a sample, to form an image of fluorescence generated from fluorescent substances in said sample via an image-forming optical system, and to read that image with a detector;
- wherein one barrier filter (or two barrier filters) which act(s) to transmit fluorescence from said fluorescent substances but attenuate excitation light passing through said sample, is (are) arranged between the sample and objective lens in said image-forming optical system or immediately before said detector (or in both positions), so that the excitation light passing through said sample is incident to the barrier filter at an incident angle of ±5 degrees or less.
A biochip reader that reads fluorescence generated from genes of each of its cells by irradiating each cell with coherent light such as laser light as the excitation light;
- comprising
- a rotation plate formed so as to be rotatable, on which a plurality of microlenses is arranged,
- a two-dimensional detector that detects a fluorescence image of said biochip using detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional manner, and
- a barrier filter positioned in the image-forming optical system that forms an image on the detector surface by detecting fluorescence from said biochip;
- further configured to rotate said rotation plate, to scan said biochip with light using excitation light beams individually condensed with a said plurality of microlenses, to individually irradiate each cell on said biochip, and at the same time to make said excitation light to be incident to said detector side incident to said barrier filter at an incident angle of ±5 degrees or less.
A biochip reader that irradiates excitation light from a light source to a plurality of cells of the biochip respectively via a plurality of microlenses and reads fluorescence image information from genes to which fluorescent substances are stuck and which are poured into a said plurality of cells with a detector;
- wherein
- said light source is configured to generate excitation light composed of a part of strong light intensity and another part of weak light intensity, and
- on said biochip, genes of each cell are arranged so that genes are expressed less at the strong light intensity part and are expressed more at the weak light intensity part.
A biochip reader that irradiates excitation light from a light source to a plurality of cells of the biochip respectively via a plurality of microlenses and reads fluorescence image information from genes to which fluorescent substances are stuck and which are poured into a said plurality of cells with a detector;
- wherein
- said detector is composed of detector elements having a characteristic in which output values are logarithmic to input values.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.