US 8,554,344 B2Granted

Method and apparatus for microscopy

OwnerYu Sun, Xinyu Liuinventors

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a compact motorized rotational stage for microscopy applications and control methods for automated sample orientation/rotation. The rotational stage includes a motor, a rotational motion transmission mechanism, and a rotating sample holder for accommodating a holding device such as glass slides/Petri dishes of different sizes. Mouse embryos are used as an example to explain the control methods. A pattern recognition utility was developed for identifying mouse embryo structures. The transformation between the holding device rotational coordinate frame and the translational positioning stage coordinate frame is calibrated during image-based visual servo control. The polar body of an embryo is oriented through purely image-based visual servo control or through coordinate transformation and closed-loop position control.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A method for orienting a plurality of samples to a desired orientation within a field of view of a microscopic means, wherein said microscopic means is an optical inverted microscope, said method comprising:

(a) by operation of an apparatus including (i) a rotational stage capable of holding the plurality of samples for rotational movement of the plurality of samples about a visualization path of the microscopic means, (ii) a base adjacent to the rotational stage, for movement of the rotational stage in an XY horizontal frame, and (iii) a position control means to control motion of the rotational stage and the base, rotating the rotational stage to orient the plurality of samples to the desired orientation, wherein the plurality of samples comprise a first subset of samples and a second subset of samples, and simultaneously moving the base for keeping the first subset of samples of the plurality of samples in the visualization path of the microscopic means;
(b) calibrating a transformation of coordinate frames of the rotational stage and the base during rotation of the first subset of samples of step (a);
(c) rotating the rotational stage to orient the second subset of samples to the desired orientation based on the calibrating;
and
(d) moving the base to bring the second subset of samples to the visualization path based on the calibrating.

2 more elements

A system for automatically controlling sample orientation with a rotational stage and keeping one or more samples inside a field of view defined by a microscopic means during rotation of the rotational stage, the system comprising:

(a) an optical inverted microscope having an optical path,
(b) the rotational stage being capable of holding the one or more samples, for rotational movement of the one or more samples about the field of view defined by the microscopic means, the rotational stage structured such that the optical path of the optical inverted microscope passes through the rotational stage free of obstructions, wherein the one or more samples comprise a first subset of samples and a second subset of samples;
(c) a motorized X-Y translational stage operably connected to the rotational stage for movement of the rotational stage in an XY horizontal frame;
(d) a position control means to control motion of the rotational stage and the base;
and
(e) a host computer linked to the microscopic means and the position control means, said host computer including (i) a pattern recognition utility product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions for performing operations, the instructions of the pattern recognition product for visually identifying sample structures;
(ii) a computer program calibration product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions for performing operations, the instructions of the computer program calibration product for calibrating transformation between coordinate frames of the rotational stage and the X-Y translational stage coordinate frame during rotation of the first subset of samples;
and (iii) a position control utility product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions for performing operations, the instructions of the position control utility product for controlling the rotational stage and X-Y translational stage when orienting the second subset of samples based on the calibrating.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/922,211Filed 13 Mar 2009 · us provisional application
Priority: 13 Mar 2008
Published: US 2011/0009983 A113 Jan 2011
Granted: 8 Oct 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G05B 19/232
The positional error is used to control continuously the servomotor according to its magnitude: with speed feedback only
G02B 21/26
Base structure: stages; Adjusting means therefor
G05B 19/291
For point-to-point control: the positional error is used to control continuously the servomotor according to its magnitude
G05B 19/351
For point-to-point control: the positional error is used to control continuously the servomotor according to its magnitude