Systems and methods for imaging cells. Quantitative phase imaging uses variations in the index of refraction of a sample as a source of endogenous contrast, providing label-free information of sub-cellular structures and allowing for the reconstruction of valuable biophysical parameters, such as cell dry-mass at femtogram scales, mass transport, and sample thickness and fluctuations at nanometer scales. As a result, QPI has become a valuable tool in biology and medicine. However, QPI has suffered from the need for trans-illumination through relatively thin objects in order to gain access to the forward-scattered field, which carries crucial low spatial frequency information of a sample and avoid contributions from multiple scattered light or out-of-focus planes. The disclosed methods and systems can provide for reconstruction of QPI and corresponding analysis for imaging samples of cells in thick samples using an epi-illumination configuration.

An apparatus for obtaining information regarding a biological structure(s) can include, for example a light guiding arrangement which can include a fiber through which an electromagnetic radiation(s) can be propagated, where the electromagnetic radiation can be provided to or from the structure. An at least partially reflective arrangement can have multiple surfaces, where the reflecting arrangement can be situated with respect to the optical arrangement such that the surfaces thereof each can receive a(s) beam of the electromagnetic radiations instantaneously, and a receiving arrangement(s) which can be configured to receive the reflected radiation from the surfaces which include speckle patterns.

According to an aspect of the present inventive concept there is provided a light transmission system (100, 200) for delivering light to a Raman spectrometer (20), the system comprising: a homogenizer (110, 510) with an entrance surface (112, 512) having an entrance height and an entrance width, an exit surface (114, 514) having an exit height and an exit width, and wherein the exit height is of a larger size than the entrance height; and wherein the homogenizer (110, 510) is configured to receive, at the entrance surface (112, 512), light from a bundle (210) of optical fibers (220) and wherein each fiber (220) in the bundle (210) defines an entrance divergence angle of light; and wherein the homogenizer (110, 510) is configured to transmit light such that an exit divergence angle of light, in a plane parallel with a direction of the exit height, is smaller than the entrance divergence angle of light, in a plane parallel with a direction of the entrance height.

A method of analysing a sample in the form of a droplet provided on a sample-receiving surface includes providing a light source and a detector in a housing, positioning said sample-receiving surface in or on the housing, and focussing an incident beam of light to a focal point in the vicinity of the sample. Light is detected from the sample resulting from an interaction with the sample, the sample-receiving surface, or the atmosphere surrounding the sample. At least one parameter of the detected light is measured, and the sample-receiving surface is translated relative to the housing such that the focal point is at a different region of the sample, the sample-receiving surface, or the atmosphere surrounding the sample. The step of measuring one or more parameters of the detected light is repeated following the translating step.

A light source apparatus generates wavelength scanning light. A pulsed light source generates pulsed light including a continuous spectrum. An optical divider spatially divides the broadband pulsed light L into a plurality of n (n≥2) beams according to wavelengths. A plurality of n fibers give different delays to the n beams. The coupler multiplexes n beams output from the n fibers. In the light source apparatus, at least a part from an incident end of the optical divider to emission ends of the n fibers has a continuous waveguide structure. A light monitoring device extracts and measures part of light propagating through the continuous waveguide structure.

One pixel unit including at least one light receiving element of a light receiving element array (photodiode array) and a light source have a one-to-one correspondence, and only when the light source emits light, the light beam is detected by at least one light receiving element (one pixel unit) corresponding to the light source. An illumination optical system includes a light guiding means for guiding to an inspection object by reducing an interval between optical axes of light beams emitted from a plurality of light sources in an arrangement direction of a plurality of the light sources.

A spectroscopic system may include: a probe having a probe tip and an optical coupler, the optical coupler including an emitting fiber group and first and second receiving fiber groups, each fiber group having a first end and a second end, wherein the first ends of the fiber groups are formed into a bundle and optically exposed through the probe tip; a light source optically coupled to the second end of the emitting fiber group, the light source emitting light in at least a first waveband and a second waveband, the second waveband being different from the first waveband; a first spectrometer optically coupled to the second end of the first receiving fiber group and configured to process light in the first waveband; and a second spectrometer optically coupled to the second end of the second receiving fiber group and configured to process light in the second waveband.

A method of analysing a sample in the form of a droplet provided on a sample-receiving surface includes providing a light source and a detector in a housing, positioning said sample-receiving surface in or on the housing, and focussing an incident beam of light to a focal point in the vicinity of the sample. Light is detected from the sample resulting from an interaction with the sample, the sample-receiving surface, or the atmosphere surrounding the sample. At least one parameter of the detected light is measured, and the sample-receiving surface is translated relative to the housing such that the focal point is at a different region of the sample, the sample-receiving surface, or the atmosphere surrounding the sample. The step of measuring one or more parameters of the detected light is repeated following the translating step.

Provided are an image reconstruction method, a device and a microscopic imaging device. The method includes calculating a gray value at each fiber center in a fiber bundle (04) in a reconstructed image according to a gray value at a center position of each fiber, determined in one or more sample images; performing a spatial interpolation using the gray value at the fiber center to obtain gray values of other pixel points in the fiber bundle (04) in the reconstructed image, so as to form the reconstructed image. This image reconstruction method greatly accelerates the speed of image reconstruction, and is helpful to remove the grating (022) and fiber bundle (04) cellular grid residues in the reconstructed image and improve the imaging quality of the reconstructed image.

A system for analyzing a sample includes an illumination source with a plurality of transmitting optical fibers optically coupled to the illumination source and a detector with a plurality of receiving optical fibers optically coupled to the detector. The system further includes a plurality of probes coupled to respective ones of the plurality of transmitting optical fibers and respective ones of the plurality of receiving optical fibers. The plurality of probes are configured to illuminate respective portions of a surface of the sample and configured to receive illumination reflected, refracted, or radiated from the respective portions of the surface of the sample. The system may further include one or more switches and/or splitters configured to optically couple respective ones of the plurality of transmitting optical fibers to the illumination source and/or configured to optically couple respective ones of the plurality of receiving optical fibers to the detector.