A method is provided for degradation-compensated evaluation of detection signals of a sensor arrangement operating on the principle of luminescence quenching, which arrangement has a luminophore that degrades over time, an excitation radiation source, and at least one optical sensor. The luminophore radiates, in accordance with a response characteristic of the sensor arrangement, in reaction to irradiation with a predefined modulated excitation radiation and as a function of the extent of an interaction of the luminophore with a quencher substance that quenches the luminescence of the luminophore. A response radiation is detected by the at least one optical sensor. The sensor arrangement outputs a detected intensity value representing an intensity of the response radiation and a detected phase value representing a phase difference of the response radiation with respect to the modulation of the excitation radiation. A predetermined calibration value correlation is identified in consideration of the reference response characteristic.

Among other things, an imaging device has a photosensitive array of pixels, and a surface associated with the array is configured to receive a specimen with at least a part of the specimen at a distance from the surface equivalent to less than about half of an average width of the pixels.

A spectrometry device includes a light source, an integrator configured to have an internal space in which a long afterglow emission material is disposed and output detection light from the internal space, a spectroscopic detector, an analysis unit configured to analyze a photoluminescence quantum yield of the long afterglow emission material, and a control unit configured to control switching between presence and absence of input of excitation light to the internal space and an exposure time in the spectroscopic detector. The control unit controls the light source so that the input of the excitation light to the internal space is maintained in a first period and the input of the excitation light to the internal space is stopped in a second period, and controls the spectroscopic detector so that an exposure time in the second period becomes longer than an exposure time in the first period.

A method for imaging tissue is provided. The method includes illuminating a target tissue via a light-emitting diode. The method further includes acquiring a plurality of timed images of the target tissue including an excitation image corresponding to an excitation state of the light-emitting. Additionally, the method includes generating a relative lifetime map of the target tissue based on the plurality of timed images.

A method and optode for determining a concentration of an analyte in a sample liquid is provided. The method comprises a radiation source, where excitation radiation is directed onto a carrier unit which is in contact with the sample liquid and has immobilized molecules of a sensor dye that is sensitive to the analyte. The excitation radiation induces luminescence radiation of the sensor dye. This radiation is detected by a radiation detector, which generates an output signal. The analyte concentration is ascertained from the detector output signal using an evaluation routine. This uses a property of the luminescence radiation on the interaction of the concentration of the analyte in the sample liquid used. The dependence of the examined property of the luminescence radiation on an indirect exchange interaction between the individual molecules of the sensor dye, which interact with each other over particles of the analyte.

Disclosed herein are systems for imaging and ablating a sample. An imaging/ablating device includes an optical assembly, a sample stage, and a receiver. The optical assembly enables ablation of a region of interest within the sample. The laser light propagated from the optical assembly during ablation propagates substantially in the same direction as the direction of travel of the ablation plume toward the receiver. A laser focus detection unit including at least one reference laser and photodetector generates at least one real-time detection signal indicative of one or more characteristics of the sample during ablation and/or of a distance from the objective to the sample stage or a surface of the sample. A controller coupled with the laser focus detection unit dynamically controls in real-time one or more parameters of the ablation laser and/or a position of the objective and/or a position of the receiver relative to the sample to improve MS imaging quality.

A fluorescence observation apparatus (1) includes an irradiation unit (10) that applies a plurality of kinds of excitation light (L11, L21) of mutually different wavelengths to a plurality of spatially or temporally different positions in a biological sample (5) that is labeled with a composite phosphor containing two or more kinds of fluorescent molecules (A, B) at a predetermined composition ratio, a detection unit (20) that detects fluorescence (L12, L22) generated at each of the plurality of positions by application of the irradiation unit (10), and a calculation unit (33) that determines a distribution of pieces of the composite phosphor on the basis of a fluorescence signal (S1, S2) that is obtained from a detection result of the detection unit (20) and that shows a fluorescence intensity corresponding to a position in the biological sample (5) of each piece of the fluorescence (L12, L22).

Systems and methods for analyzing groundwater samples with multiple organic tracer species from a petroleum containing reservoir include obtaining the sample, isolating an aqueous fraction of the groundwater sample, separating the aqueous fraction into a plurality of components, where each component corresponds to a different one of the organic tracer species, combining each of the separated components with at least one lanthanide element to form a plurality of component solutions, where a ratio of the at least one lanthanide element to the separated component in each component solution is 5:1 or greater, and analyzing each component solution to determine a relative amount of each organic tracer species in the groundwater sample.

A method is provided comprising: positioning a slide that includes a concave region that is formed in a top surface of the slide and that can contain an object, such that a focal point of an objective lens of a fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) device is within an area of the concave region between a bottom surface of the concave region and the top surface of the slide; and using the FLIM device to capture a sequence of wide field images of a portion of the object within a field of view of the objective lens.

The invention relates to a method for measuring the concentration of a gas component in an atmosphere of a packaging which is made from a plastic film and which comprises a gas concentration indicator substance on the side of the plastic film facing the atmosphere.