An apparatus for processing crop, animal feed or components with a drivable tool and at least one NIR sensor system for determining at least feed values, having a scanning head with a spectrometric sensor and at least one light source behind a transparent pane which can be passed by the feed, comprises in a housing of the NIR sensor system a calibration surface, the appearance of which is different from the appearance of the feed to be scanned on the pane, wherein the scanning head is actively adjustable for calibration between a scanning position aligned with the pane and a calibration position aligned with the respective calibration surface.

A method of inspecting and performing material identification of a contaminant found in a vial may include identifying the presence of the contaminant in a lyophilized medicine within the vial, detaching a portion of the vial to create an enlarged opening in the vial, removing substantially an entire cake of lyophilized medicine through the enlarged opening, and analyzing the contaminant using an atomic emissions spectroscopy (AES) technique such as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Systems, fixtures and devices associated with the method are also disclosed.

A hand-held microfluidic testing device is provided that includes a housing having a cartridge receiving port, a cartridge for input to the cartridge receiving port having a sample input and a channel, where the channel includes a mixture of Raman-scattering nanoparticles and a calibration solution, where the calibration solution includes chemical compounds capable of interacting with a sample under test input to the cartridge and the Raman-scattering nanoparticles, and an optical detection system in the housing, where the optical detection system is capable of providing an illuminated electric field, where the illuminating electric field is capable of being used for Raman spectroscopy with the Raman-scattering nanoparticles and the calibration solution to analyze the sample under test input to the cartridge.

A hand-held microfluidic testing device is provided that includes a housing having a cartridge receiving port, a cartridge for input to the cartridge receiving port having a sample input and a channel, where the channel includes a mixture of Raman-scattering nanoparticles and a calibration solution, where the calibration solution includes chemical compounds capable of interacting with a sample under test input to the cartridge and the Raman-scattering nanoparticles, and an optical detection system in the housing, where the optical detection system is capable of providing an illuminated electric field, where the illuminating electric field is capable of being used for Raman spectroscopy with the Raman-scattering nanoparticles and the calibration solution to analyze the sample under test input to the cartridge.

A multiparameter standard solution for verifying and calibrating water quality sensors containing an aqueous pH buffer, a xanthene dye, and distyryl biphenyl (DSBP) is provided. The standard solution provides a safe, quick, easy, and stable field standard to simultaneously conduct calibration analysis for several sensors at once. The standard solution is stable when stored and can be safely disposed of in the field. Methods of calibrating sensors used in water quality analysis using the multiparameter standard solution are also provided.

A method for harmonizing the responses of a plurality of Raman analyzers includes steps of calibrating an intensity axis response of a spectrometer to a reference light source and measuring a laser wavelength of a laser using the spectrometer. The method also includes steps of measuring a fluorescence spectrum induced by the laser at the laser wavelength of a plurality of standard reference material samples using the spectrometer, measuring a temperature of each standard reference material sample while measuring the fluorescence spectrum, and correcting the fluorescence spectrum of each standard reference material sample based on the respective temperature. The method further includes steps of deploying each standard reference material sample in one of a plurality of field calibrator devices and calibrating the intensity axis of one of the Raman analyzers using one of the field calibrator devices and the corrected fluorescence spectrum of the respective standard reference material sample.

A calibration phantom, or related nanoparticle substrate, for multimodal optical system characterization includes a contrast layer and a localizing grid layer. The contrast layer may be a two-dimensional (2D) layer, a stack of 2D layers, a three-dimensional (3D) block, or combinations thereof. Nanoparticles are arranged on, embedded in, or coupled to the contrast layer(s). Nanoparticles provide sub-resolution point-sources that can provide optical contrast for multiple different imaging modalities. The localizing grid layer includes a grid, which may be etched in, or otherwise marked on, the localizing grid layer. By coupling the contrast layer to the localizing grid layer, the positions of the nanoparticles remain fixed relative to the localizing grid, which can be visualized by the imaging system. In this way, a reliable and repeatably imageable calibration phantom is provided.

A chlorophyll fluorescence measuring system having at least one spectrometer coupled to a data logger. The data logger provides direct control of the spectrometer and includes on-board memory for storage of target and reference spectrum data obtained by the spectrometer. The data logger may be coupled to an external computer that receives and analyzes target and reference spectrum data to determine SIF using a spectral fitting algorithm. The system may include a spectrometer aiming system coupled to and controlled by the data logger. The system may also include one or more environmental sensors configured to measure environment variables. The environmental sensors may be coupled to the data logger for control and data storage. The environmental data may be communicated to the external computer for use in the spectral fitting algorithm. The data logger may be connected to a network for remote monitoring and control.

A method for harmonizing the responses of a plurality of Raman analyzers includes steps of calibrating an intensity axis response of a spectrometer to a reference light source and measuring a laser wavelength of a laser using the spectrometer. The method also includes steps of measuring a fluorescence spectrum induced by the laser at the laser wavelength of a plurality of standard reference material samples using the spectrometer, measuring a temperature of each standard reference material sample while measuring the fluorescence spectrum, and correcting the fluorescence spectrum of each standard reference material sample based on the respective temperature. The method further includes steps of deploying each standard reference material sample in one of a plurality of field calibrator devices and calibrating the intensity axis of one of the Raman analyzers using one of the field calibrator devices and the corrected fluorescence spectrum of the respective standard reference material sample.

A hand-held microfluidic testing device is provided that includes a housing having a cartridge receiving port, a cartridge for input to the cartridge receiving port having a sample input and a channel, where the channel includes a mixture of Raman-scattering nanoparticles and a calibration solution, where the calibration solution includes chemical compounds capable of interacting with a sample under test input to the cartridge and the Raman-scattering nanoparticles, and an optical detection system in the housing, where the optical detection system is capable of providing an illuminated electric field, where the illuminating electric field is capable of being used for Raman spectroscopy with the Raman-scattering nanoparticles and the calibration solution to analyze the sample under test input to the cartridge.