A method for characterising a sample located within an imaging region, the method comprising the steps of: generating one or more evanescent fields, each associated with a direction, within the imaging region; capturing an image of the imaging region; determining 5 one or more sample characteristics of the sample according to a spatial intensity pattern resulting from an interaction between the, or each, evanescent field and the sample within the image, and associated apparatus and system.

The present disclosure relates a low magnification dark-field microscope system and method for producing a dark-field image. The method includes transferring a biological specimen to a surface of a sample plate, and pre-treating the biological specimen using one or more pre-treatment steps selected from (1) heating the biological specimen using a heating device; (2) applying ultrasound energy using an ultrasound transducer and ultrasound generator; and (3) doping the biological specimen with a metallic nanoparticle. Following pre-treatment, the method includes imaging a region of interest the biological specimen on the sample plate using a dark-field microscope to generate a dark-field image of the biological specimen.

Among the various aspects of the present disclosure is the provision of systems and methods of phase-sensitive compressed ultrafast photography.

A system for illuminating a microscopy specimen includes illumination sources each of which is configured to emit a light that travels along an illumination path to illuminate the microscopy specimen placed on an optical detection path of an optical microscope. The system also includes optical elements in the illumination path of each of the illumination sources. The optical elements are configured to at least in part transform the light from each of the illumination sources into a light sheet illuminating the microscopy specimen and to vary a position of a waist of the light sheet from each of the illumination sources that illuminates the microscopy specimen. The optical elements for each of the illumination sources are configured such that the waist of the light sheet from each of the illumination sources are spatially aligned and illuminate a substantially coincident portion of the microscopy specimen.

An observation apparatus including: a light-source that emits illumination light and excitation light upward from below a specimen; and an image-capturing optical system having an objective lens that focuses, below the specimen, transmitted light, which is the illumination light that is emitted from the light-source, that is reflected above the specimen, and that has passed through the specimen, and fluorescence that is generated in the specimen that has been irradiated with the excitation light emitted from the light-source, wherein the light-source is disposed radially outside the objective lens.

An observation apparatus including: a light-source that emits illumination light and excitation light upward from below a specimen; and an image-capturing optical system having an objective lens that focuses, below the specimen, transmitted light, which is the illumination light that is emitted from the light-source, that is reflected above the specimen, and that has passed through the specimen, and fluorescence that is generated in the specimen that has been irradiated with the excitation light emitted from the light-source, wherein the light-source is disposed radially outside the objective lens.

A light sheet microscope includes: a detection objective configured to image a target region of a sample located in a focal plane of the detection objective; an illumination objective configured to focus an illumination light beam in the sample, the detection objective and the illumination objective being opposite to one another, and the optical axis of the detection objective and the optical axis of the illumination objective being parallel to one another; a first light deflection device having at least one first deflection surface and one second deflection surface, which are each arranged offset to the optical axis of the detection objective and are configured to deflect the illumination light beam focused by the illumination objective in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the detection objective such that a deflected illumination light beam forms a light-sheet-like illumination light distribution focused in the focal plane.

A method for examining a sample in light sheet fluorescence microscopy includes generating an illumination light beam using a light source. The illumination light beam is spatially split into at least two partial illumination light beams using a splitter. The partial illumination light beams are guided through an illumination objective shared by the partial illumination light beams. After the partial illumination light beams have passed through the illumination objective, at least one of the partial illumination light beams is deflected using at least one deflector such that the partial illumination light beams interfere with one another in an illumination plane so as to generate an illumination pattern in the illumination plane. An image of a sample region illuminated by the illumination pattern is produced, wherein detection light that emanates from the sample region reaches a position-sensitive detector through a detection objective.

A method for examining a sample in light sheet fluorescence microscopy includes generating an illumination light beam using a light source. The illumination light beam is spatially split into at least two partial illumination light beams using a splitter. The partial illumination light beams are guided through an illumination objective shared by the partial illumination light beams. After the partial illumination light beams have passed through the illumination objective, at least one of the partial illumination light beams is deflected using at least one deflector such that the partial illumination light beams interfere with one another in an illumination plane so as to generate an illumination pattern in the illumination plane. An image of a sample region illuminated by the illumination pattern is produced, wherein detection light that emanates from the sample region reaches a position-sensitive detector through a detection objective.

An apparatus for light-sheet-like light illumination of a sample includes a light source configured to generate an illumination beam. A focusing system is configured to focus the illumination beam to form a light-sheet-like illumination light distribution, with which a focal plane of the sample can be illuminated. An imaging optical unit is configured to image the light-sheet-like illumination light distribution into the focal plane. A polarization element, arranged in a position conjugated to the focal plane between the focusing system and the imaging optical unit, is configured to split the illumination beam into two differently polarized sub-beams, which propagate into the imaging optical unit in different propagation directions, whereby the light-sheet-like illumination light distribution can be imaged by the imaging optical unit in the form of two differently polarized light-sheets, which from a same side of the focal plane are superimposed on each other in the focal plane.