A cuvette in which a fluorescent enzymatic reaction can be carried out that is for analyzing a sample includes at least one vertical wall and a bottom. The cuvette is made of a transparent or translucent material and a portion of the cuvette is partially covered on the outside with a sleeve including an inner coating made of retro-reflective material that is in contact with the cuvette.

The present invention relates to a system for conducting the identification and quantification of micro-organisms, e.g., bacteria in biological samples. More particularly, the invention relates to a system comprising a cooling, heating and fan arrangement for maintaining a predetermined optimum temperature of the samples during testing; a visual, circumferential and axial alignment system for aligning the samples within the carousel; a transfer system for transferring the samples from the carousel to the centrifuge; a balancing system of minimizing the rotational vibrations of the centrifuge; a safety system and anti-tipping design for the sample containing system; liquid dispensing arms for dispensing the buffered saline solution; and discharge ports for discharging and disposing of the liquid removed from the samples to a location external of the system.

A sensor system having coupling structures is disclosed. The system includes an input coupling structure, an interaction region, and an output coupling structure. The input coupling structure is configured to receive emitted light at a selected coupling efficiency and may provide filtering of the emitted light for a selected wavelength. The interaction region is coupled to the input coupling structure and configured to interact the light from the input coupling structure with a specimen. The output coupling structure is coupled to the interaction region and configured to provide interacted light from the interaction region to the detector.

According to one embodiment, a measuring device for a sample liquid includes a container which stores the sample liquid, the container including a transparent or translucent optical component with an inclined surface to be brought into contact with the sample liquid, an optical sensor provided on a bottom of the container, which detects light from the sample liquid, and a measurement module which measures a concentration of a specific substance contained in the sample liquid, or a liquid height or liquid volume of the sample liquid based on a detected signal of the optical sensor.

The present invention relates to a system for conducting the identification and quantification of micro-organisms, e.g., bacteria in biological samples. More particularly, the invention relates to a system comprising a cooling, heating and fan arrangement for maintaining a predetermined optimum temperature of the samples during testing; a visual, circumferential and axial alignment system for aligning the samples within the carousel; a transfer system for transferring the samples from the carousel to the centrifuge; a balancing system of minimizing the rotational vibrations of the centrifuge; a safety system and anti-tipping design for the sample containing system; liquid dispensing arms for dispensing the buffered saline solution; and discharge ports for discharging and disposing of the liquid removed from the samples to a location external of the system.

Disclosed is a micro-lens imaging multi-well test plate which comprises: a transparent plate of 3-5 mm in thickness with one or more trapezoidal wells locating in the middle of the plate, each of the wells is of an underside of 2-4 mm in diameter, 0.2-0.5 mm in thickness, a trapezoidal dip angle of 60-75, and has a micro-lens which upper half is hemispherical, lower half is a cylinder, with radius of 0.11.0 mm, height of 0.22.5 mm, molded on the bottom of the well. The micro-lens imaging multi-well test plate is made of homogeneous optical transparent materials. When the trapezoidal concave wells of the test plate are filled with fluid to immerse the micro-lens, under parallel light illumination, due to the refraction effect of light, the image of micro-lens is a round one with an outer edge that is a black ring. The outer radius R of the black ring is the radius of the micro-lens, the inner radius r of the black ring is a function of the refractive index n.sub.1 of the immersion liquid, the refractive index n.sub.2 of the micro-lens and the height h of the micro-lens, so the refractive index of the sample fluid can be determined by monitoring the value of the inner radius r of the black ring with known values of R, n.sub.2 and h. By using a multi-well test plate for imaging, the individual refractive indices of different sample fluids in all the wells can be determined simultaneously in one measurement.

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for Raman spectroscopy are described. In certain implementations, a spectrometer is provided. The spectrometer may include a plurality of optical elements, comprising an entrance aperture, a collimating element, a volume phase holographic grating, a focusing element, and a detector array. The plurality of optical elements are configured to transfer the light beam from the entrance aperture to the detector array with a high transfer efficiency over a preselected spectral band.

A gas sensor includes: a gas detection unit including a light source and a detector; and a gas passage including a first end, a second end and a hollow part. The hollow part has a shape in which a cross-sectional area of a flow passage grows smaller. The gas passage includes: a member that divides the hollow part into at least a first area and a second area; a gas inflow port; and a gas outflow port. The gas flows from the gas inflow port into the hollow part, flows in the first area to arrive at the gas detection unit, and the gas located in the gas detection unit flows in the second area and flows out from the gas outflow port.

The invention relates to a counting chamber for a microscope, adjustable in height. The method measures a cell count at two different chamber heights and deduces the concentration of particles without an exact calibration of the absolute height, as the height difference gives a measurement of the missing volume and therefore an estimate of the particle concentration.

The invention relates to a test cell for mixing a liquid. The test cell comprises an interior space for receiving the liquid and a running rail, which is formed in the interior space, for a ball, wherein the running rail is formed by two projections which project into the interior space from opposite side walls of the test cell. According to the invention, the running rail has a straight section and is deflected upward at both ends. In the test cell according to the invention, a high filling level can be achieved with a low quantity of liquid, this being advantageous for optical measurements. The invention also relates to a measuring method using the test cell.