A multi-surface image acquisition system includes a multi-surface observation prism which includes one or more prisms and has a light path formed to collect surfaces in respective directions to be observed of a subject having a three-dimensional structure into one direction, in which a light path length is corrected by utilizing a difference in refractive index between glass and air to equalize a working distance of each surface. A light field camera expands a focal-depth adjustment range for two or more images focused on same plane through the prism. A three-dimensional subject can be observed in multiple directions at the same time, including an observation of cells.

The present invention relates to microscopy and spectroscopy systems, particularly to confocal microscopy and spectroscopy apparatus. Current confocal microscopes are expensive and difficult to set up and calibrate. The confocal microscope described in this document, comprises a housing, which may be printed, and which includes mounts for receiving optical and other components of the microscope. The positions of the mounts are pre-determined so as to obviate the need for complex calibration of the components. The components and optical path lengths are selected in order to optimise the size of the microscope.

A method and an optical arrangement for ascertaining a resultant power of radiation in a sample plane (8) of an optical arrangement. In a step A, a current configuration of optical elements in a beam path of the optical arrangement is captured. In a step B, radiation is provided and directed into the sample plane (8) along the beam path. At least one measured value of the power of the radiation in the sample plane (8) is captured as resultant power in step C and the measured values in respect of the respectively current configuration are stored in a step D. Steps A to D are repeated for at least one further current configuration.

A method for counting photons using a photomultiplier includes obtaining a measurement signal from a raw signal produced by the photomultiplier by correcting the raw signal for a noise signal and/or an offset, wherein an incident photon produces a pulse in the raw signal. The measurement signal is integrated over time to form an analog integrated measurement signal. A number of photons that are incident in the photomultiplier is ascertained by comparing a value of the analog integrated measurement signal to an integral proportionality value which corresponds to a specific number of photons incident in the photomultiplier.

The invention relates to an illumination system (10) for a fluorescence microscope (3) for observation of an object (17) containing at least one fluorophore (19), to a microscope (1) and to a microscope method for illumination of an object (17) comprising at least one fluorophore (19). Solutions of the art have the disadvantage that orientation within an object (17) is difficult and visibility of fluorescing regions of the object (17) is non satisfying. The inventive illumination system (10) improves the visibility of an object (17) under study by comprising an illumination device (9), with an emission spectrum (22) which includes fluorescent excitation wavelengths (23) of the at least one fluorophore (19) and visible-light background wavelengths (25), further comprising a illumination filter (41) having at least one fluorescence excitation passband (93) and at least one background illumination passband (95), wherein the transmissivity (88)/width (92) of the fluorescence excitation passband (93) is larger/smaller than the transmissivity (88)/width (92) of the background illumination passband (95). The inventive illumination system (10) is adapted to perform the inventive microscope method.

An infrared microscope includes a radiation source, a sample plane, an objective lens, a path length modulator and a detector. The radiation source emits temporally coherent infrared radiation that propagates along an optical path of the microscope during operation. A sample is disposed in the sample plane. The detector detects the infrared radiation after the radiation interacts with the sample. The objective lens forms an image of the sample plane on the detector. The path length modulator continuously varies the optical path length of the optical path between the sample plane and the detector. The path length modulator can be a wedge or a diffusing screen that rotates during operation, a phase modulator that rotates during operation and that has regions with different indices of refraction, a tilting element that tilts about an axis during operation, or a diffuser mirror that reflects the infrared radiation and that rotates during operation.

A Brillouin modality can be supplemented by an auxiliary modality, such as an optical imaging modality or a spectroscopy modality. In some embodiments, the auxiliary modality can be used to guide the Brillouin measurement to a desired region of interest, so that acquisition times for the Brillouin measurement can be reduced as compared to interrogating the entire sample. The auxiliary modality may have an acquisition speed faster than that of the Brillouin modality. In some embodiment, the auxiliary modality determines a composition of materials within a voxel in the sample interrogated by the Brillouin modality. Using the information provided by the auxiliary modality, the Brillouin signatures corresponding to the materials within the voxel can be unmixed, thereby providing a more accurate measurement of the sample.

In one implementation, a spectral microscope may comprise a substrate with a planar lens, the planar lens including a phase profile including an axial focus and an oblique focus, a light source to excite a signal of a particle among a plurality of particles, and a detector to receive light generated from the light source from the axial focus of the planar lens and a spectral color component of the excited signal of the particle from the oblique focus of the planar lens.

A microscope for imaging an object, comprising a lens for imaging the object through an imaging beam path, a light source for generating illumination radiation, at least one optical element for coupling the illumination radiation into the imaging beam path such that a common beam path is formed between the optical element and the lens, wherein the imaging radiation path runs through the common beam path, and the illumination radiation is guided through the common beam path. The microscope also comprises a monitoring device for measuring an energy parameter of the illumination radiation, said monitoring device determining an energy parameter of radiation which is incident on the monitoring device, and a beam splitter device which is arranged in the common beam path upstream of the lens in the illuminating direction and couples measurement radiation out of the illumination radiation onto the monitoring device.

A specimen-sample estimation apparatus includes: a light emitter configured to emit white light to irradiate light to a specimen sample including a living tissue; special light filters that are insertable and removable to and from an optical path of the white light, each special light filter being configured to transmit light having a different wavelength band; a driver configured to move one of the special light filters to the optical path; an imager configured to image the specimen sample to generate image data; and a processor including hardware, the processor being configured to detect a core tissue region of the living tissue appearing in an image corresponding to the image data, calculate an amount of tissue of the living tissue, based on the detected core tissue region, and determine whether the calculated amount of tissue is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold.