Solid-state optical assay imaging apparatus

An apparatus for determining a characteristic of a plurality of analytes in a plurality of samples by measuring the light transmitted from a plurality of assay sites on a solid support in relation to the amount of signal modulating component present at each said assay site, wherein the amount of said component is related to the presence of analyte in a sample, said apparatus comprising:

• a light source for uniformly directing light to a plurality of assay sites and to a reference site;
• a dynamic random access memory having a plurality of memory cells, said memory having an exposed surface covered by a light-transmitting non-reflective plate;
• a lens for focussing light from each said site onto a separate block of said memory cells;
• a sequencer for sequentially reading said memory cells after a predetermined exposure time;
• means for comparing the states of said memory cells for each said block;
• means for comparing said measured states for a reference site block to each of the other blocks;
• and
• means for analyzing said compared states to determine said characteristic of said analytes.

A method for determining a characteristic of an analyte in a sample, said method comprising the steps of:

• irradiating an assay site and a standard reference site with light while correcting for any non-uniformity in the light;
• directing light from said sites onto a first and a second group of memory cells, respectively, of a dynamic random access memory;
• exposing said memory cells to said directed light for a predetermined period of time;
• measuring the states of said memory cells after said exposure of said group of memory cells;
• comparing said measured states of said first group and said second group;
• and
• analyzing said compared states to determined said characteristic of said analyte.