Fluorescence lifetime sensor module and method of determining a fluorescence lifetime using a sensor module
US10871448B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 4, 2017 |
| Grant date | Dec 22, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 31, 2037 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2201/105
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A fluorescence lifetime sensor module comprises an opaque housing having a first chamber and a second chamber which are separated by a light barrier. An optical emitter is arranged in the first chamber and configured to emit through a first aperture. Emission of pulses of light of a specified wavelength is arranged to optically excite a fluorescent probe to be positioned in front of the sensor module. A detector is arranged in the second chamber and configured to detect through a second aperture received photons from the fluorescent probe. A measurement block is configured to determine respective difference values representative of an arrival time of one of the received photons with respect to the emission pulses. A histogram block is configured to accumulate the difference values in a histogram. A processing circuit is configured to compute time-of-flight values based on an evaluation of the histogram, compute a fluorescence lifetime from the time-of-flight values and generate an output signal being indicative of the fluorescence lifetime of the fluorescent probe. A control unit is configured to initiate pulsed emission of the optical emitter.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.