An optical system includes a scanning unit, a first lens-element group including at least a first lens element, and a focusing unit which is designed to focus beams onto a focus, wherein the focusing unit includes a second lens-element group including at least a second lens element and an imaging lens. The imaging lens further includes a pupil plane and a wavefront manipulator. The wavefront manipulator is arranged in the pupil plane of the imaging lens or in a plane that is conjugate to the pupil plane, or the scanning unit of the optical system is arranged in a plane that is conjugate to the pupil plane and the wavefront manipulator is arranged upstream of the scanning unit in the light direction. The focus of the second lens-element group lies in the pupil plane of the imaging lens in all focal positions of the focusing unit.

An optical measurement method and an optical measurement device for determining the spatial or spatiotemporal distribution of a sample, the sample comprising at least one retransmission source retransmitting light depending on light projected onto the sample according to a predetermined law. The method has steps of projection onto the sample of at least two compact light distributions belonging to different topological families, which propagate along the same optical path; detection of the light retransmitted by said at least one retransmission source of the sample; generation of at least one optical image from the detected light; and algorithmic analysis of the optical images for obtaining location data on said at least one retransmission source.

Various embodiments for a multi-focal selective illumination microscopy (SIM) system for generating multi-focal patterns of a sample are disclosed. The multi-focal SIM system performs a focusing, scaling and summing operation on each generated multi-focal pattern in a sequence of multi-focal patterns that completely scan the sample to produce a high resolution composite image.

A biological observation apparatus includes a light source that radiates illumination light onto an observation region that includes a biological specimen; a CCD that acquires a macro image of the observation region; a light source that radiates excitation light onto the biological specimen; a micro-image acquisition unit that acquires a micro image of the biological specimen; an identification-information storing unit that stores identification information of the biological specimen; a biological-specimen specifying unit that extracts identification information of the biological specimen by performing image processing on the macro image, and specifies a biological specimen for which the extracted identification information corresponds to the identification information stored in the identification-information storing unit; and a pan controller that moves a capturing range of the micro-image acquisition unit such that the biological specimen is included in the viewing range of the micro image.

A confocal scanner includes a first micro lens disk having a plurality of micro lenses arranged thereon, a second micro lens disk having a plurality of micro lenses, which is arranged in correspondence to an arrangement pattern of the first micro lens disk, and having a common rotation axis to the first micro lens disk, and a beam splitter configured to guide an illumination light, which is to be irradiated to an object, to the first micro lens disk, and to guide a return light from the object having passed through each micro lens of the first micro lens disk to the corresponding micro lens of the second micro lens disk. A numerical aperture of each micro lens arranged on the second micro lens disk is greater than a numerical aperture of each micro lens arranged on the first micro lens disk.

The present invention provides a light-field microscope including: an illumination optical system that radiates excitation light onto a sample; and a detection optical system including an objective lens that collects fluorescence generated in the sample as a result of the sample being irradiated with the excitation light by the illumination optical system, an image-acquisition element that acquires an image of the fluorescence collected by the objective lens, and a microlens array disposed between the image-acquisition element and the objective lens. The illumination optical system radiates a beam of the excitation light having a predetermined width in the optical-axis direction of the objective lens so as to include the focal plane of the objective lens onto the sample in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis.

The present invention is related to a method, a computer program, and apparatus for adapting an estimator for use in a microscope for estimating a position of an emitter in a sample based on a method, in which the sample is illuminated with light at one or more sets of probe positions and fluorescence photons are acquired for the sets of probe positions. The invention is further related to a microscope, which makes use of such a method or apparatus. The sample is illuminated with light at one or more sets of probe positions and fluorescence photons are acquired for the sets of probe positions. Photon counts of the acquired photons are then added to vectors of photon counts or sums of photon counts are determined for the sets of probe positions. A value representative of background noise is determined and used for adapting the estimator in real-time.

A microscope and method of microscopy having a light source for providing illumination light, a controllable manipulation device for generating in a variable manner an illumination pattern of the illumination light to be selected, an illumination beam path with a microscope lens for guiding the illumination pattern to a sample to be examined, a detector having a plurality of pixels for examining the fluorescent light emitted by the sample, a detection beam path for guiding the fluorescent light emitted by the sample to the detector, a main beam splitter for splitting illumination light and fluorescent light, a control and evaluation unit for controlling the manipulation device and for evaluating the data measured by the detector. The manipulation device is arranged in the illumination beam path upstream from the main beam splitter in the vicinity of an optically conjugated plane to the sample plane such that the pixel of the detector can be individually activated using the control and evaluation unit and in read out patterns to be selected and that the control and evaluation unit is designed to activate pixels of the detectors individually or in a selected read out pattern dependent on the selected illumination pattern.

An optical microscope (10) comprising a first optical microscope (R); and a second optical microscope (Q) with a different mode of operation to the first optical microscope (R). The optical microscope (10) is configured such that the first optical microscope (R) and the second optical microscope (Q) simultaneously view a sample on a sample stage (I).

A microscope is provided. The microscope includes a lens system comprising a lens unit, which is adjustable along an optical axis of the lens system to correct an imaging error. The microscope further includes a motor-actuatable adjustment device, which is configured to adjust the lens unit along the optical axis. The microscope also includes a processor and a scanning unit, which is configured to deflect a light beam used for the image recording. The processor is configured to compare a position of an image which has been recorded after a correction adjustment of the lens unit to reference data, detect a change of the position of the image due to the correction adjustment of the lens unit based on the comparison, and activate the scanning unit in such a way that the change of the position of the image is at least partially compensated for.