Devices, systems and methods for use in confocal imaging systems are described that enable lateral and axial scans at high speeds and without a moving scanner while producing high quality images. One chromatic confocal optical head includes an illumination source, such as an addressable point source array, to provide a wide spectrum illumination including multiple wavelengths. The optical head also includes a beamsplitter to allow the light to be directed toward an object, to receive the reflected light from the object and to direct the reflected light toward a detector. The optical head further includes a pinhole mask that is positioned to receive the light that is reflected from the object after passing through the beamsplitter, and a dispersion element that is positioned to receive the light after passing through the pinhole mask, and to separate the light into multiple spectral components for reception by the detector.

A multi-channel line microscope for single molecule Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) imaging of a sample. A microscope stage moves a sample across two or more reflected excitation lines positioned relative to each other so that each excitation line excites a spatially distinct horizontal line in the image plane of the sample. A sample is imaged by moving the microscope stage across two or more reflected excitation lines positioned relative to each other so that each excitation line excites a spatially distinct horizontal line in the image plane of the sample. The apparatus and methods of use are suitable for a broad range of applications.

An optical tissue imaging system includes a probe for insertion into a transparent cylindrical capillary. The capillary includes an internal cylindrical channel that extends along a central axis. The capillary is inserted into tissue of a subject, and the probe may rotate and translate within the capillary. The probe may include a mirror configured to reflect light to the tissue outside of the cylindrical capillary.

Control processes for a slide-scanning system comprising a carousel with a plurality of rack slots configured to receive slide racks via an exposed portion of the scanning system. In an embodiment, initializing the scanning system comprises automatically homing back-end and front-end components, wherein the front-end components comprise the carousel. An inventory of all slide racks in the carousel is automatically generated. If any slide rack was being processed by any back-end components, the slide rack is automatically unloaded into a corresponding rack slot. In addition, the carousel is automatically positioned to expose a starting subset of the rack slots within the exposed portion. This starting subset may comprise a maximum segment of adjacent empty rack slots.

An optical device may include an optical fiber having a fixed end and a free end; a first actuator positioned at a actuator position between the fixed end and the free end and configured to apply a first force on the actuator position of the optical fiber such that a movement of the free end of the optical fiber in a first direction is caused, wherein the first direction is orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the optical fiber; and a deformable rod disposed adjacent to the optical fiber, and having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to a first rod position of the optical fiber and the second end is connected to a second rod position of the optical fiber.

A microscope includes: a motorized object stage for moving an object; an optical imaging system for forming an optical image of a plane (OE) in which the object is to be optically imaged; an optical scanning unit for moving the plane (OE) to be optically imaged by the optical imaging system relative to the optical imaging system; an image sensor for detecting the optical image of the plane (OE) formed by the optical imaging system; and a controller for controlling the motorized object stage and the optical scanning unit for simultaneously moving the object and the plane (OE) in a same direction relative to the optical imaging system while the optical image is being detected by the image sensor.

This defect inspection device for emitting illumination light onto a moving and rotating sample and inspecting for sample defects by scanning the sample in a spiral shape or concentric circle shapes comprises: an illumination and detection unit comprising an emission optical system and a detection optical system; a rotary stage for rotating the sample; a rectilinear stage for rectilinearly moving the rotary stage; and a controller for controlling the illumination and detection unit, rotary stage, and rectilinear stage. On the linear path of the rectilinear stage are a scanning start position where illumination light is emitted onto the sample and scanning is started and a sample delivery position where movement of the sample to the scanning start position starts. When the sample arrives at the scanning start position, the defect inspection device starts emitting the illumination light onto the sample without waiting for the rotation speed of the rotary stage to rise to a specified rotation speed for scanning and raises the rotation speed of the rotary stage to the specified rotation speed while scanning the sample.

This disclosure also teaches a system and method for scanning a specimen into a focus-stacked scan. In one embodiment, a method for scanning the specimen into a focus-stacked scan can comprise illuminating the specimen with a light. The specimen can comprise a topography. The depths of the topography can be variable along a z-axis. The method can also comprise dividing the specimen into a plurality of regions. Each of the regions can comprise a regional peak in the topography. Additionally, the method can comprise sampling each of the regions at a plurality of focal planes orthogonal to the z-axis by capturing, at each focal plane, an image of the region. The image can be focused on the focal plane. Lastly, the method can comprise focus-stacking, for each of the region the images within the region, into a focus-stacked image, and stitching together the focus-stacked images.

A device for multi-photon fluorescence microscopy for obtaining information from biological tissue has a laser unit for generating an excitation radiation, an optical unit implemented for focusing the excitation radiation for generating an optical signal at various locations in or on an object to be investigated, and a detector module for capturing the optical signal from the region of the object. The optical unit is thereby displaceable at least in one direction relative to the object for generating the optical signal at various locations in or on the object. The invention further relates to a method for multi-photon fluorescence microscopy. In said manner, a device and a method for multi-photon fluorescence microscopy are provided for obtaining information from biological tissue, allowing recording of section images in an object with a large field of view, and thereby are simply constructed and reliable in operation.

Provided are a tiling light sheet selective plane illumination microscope (TLS-SPIM), a use method thereof and a microscope system. The use method includes loading a corresponding phase map to each group of pupil subsections of a pupil by a spatial light modulator, and performing phase modulation on an excitation beam to create at least two coaxial excitation beam arrays scanning the created at least two coaxial excitation beam arrays to generate discontinuous light sheets accordingly; and tiling at least one of the generated discontinuous light sheets in the propagation direction of the excitation light to obtain tiling light sheets for selective plane illumination of a sample. The method of using the TLS-SPIM, the TLS-SPIM and the system including same enables significant increasing of imaging speed, improvement of resolution, and reduction of source data amount.