Extended depth of field imaging for high speed object analysis

US8009189B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Amnis Corporation · US

Inventors

• William E. Ortyn · Bainbridge Island, US
• David A. Basiji · Seattle, US
• Keith L. Frost · Seattle, US
• Luchuan Liang · Woodinville, US
• Richard Bauer · Kirkland, US
• Brian Hall · Seattle, US
• David Perry · Woodinville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 3, 2008
• Grant date: Aug 30, 2011
• Expiry date: Jun 8, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N2015/1452
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A high speed, high-resolution flow imaging system is modified to achieve extended depth of field imaging. An optical distortion element is introduced into the flow imaging system. Light from an object, such as a cell, is distorted by the distortion element, such that a point spread function (PSF) of the imaging system is invariant across an extended depth of field. The distorted light is spectrally dispersed, and the dispersed light is used to simultaneously generate a plurality of images. The images are detected, and image processing is used to enhance the detected images by compensating for the distortion, to achieve extended depth of field images of the object. The post image processing preferably involves de-convolution, and requires knowledge of the PSF of the imaging system, as modified by the optical distortion element.