A filter unit for a Raman microscope mounted with a dark-field objective lens unit includes a frame body, a plurality of UV-LED elements that is disposed around a window part of the frame body to emit UV light, and a long-pass filter that is supported to the frame body to cover the window part of the frame body and transmits a light having a wavelength longer than the wavelength of the UV light. The filter unit has a dark-field UV irradiation function, and is able to impart a fluorescence observation function to the Raman microscope.

A microscopy includes multiple cameras working together to capture image data of a sample having a group of organisms distributed over a wide area, under the influence of an excitation instrument. A first processor is coupled to each camera to process the image data captured by the camera. Outputs from the multiple first processors are aggregated and streamed serially to a second processor for tracking the organisms. The presence of the multiple cameras capturing images from the sample, configured with 50% or more overlap, can allow 3D tracking of the organisms through photogrammetry.

Disclosed are a method of acquiring an image using a light-emitting element array and an apparatus therefor. The method of acquiring an image using a light-emitting element array includes reconstructing a first image from some images among source images, detecting a partial region containing a detection target object from the first image, acquiring partial-region images corresponding to the partial region from each of the source images, and reconstructing a second image from the partial-region images using the FPMP.

Systems and methods are provided for classifying microbial cells according to morphological features of microcolonies. A dark-field objective is employed to acquire a dark-field image of a microcolony during a microcolony growth phase that is characterized by phenotypic expression of microcolony morphological features which evolve with time and are differentiated among classes of microbial cell types. The dark-field image is processed to classify the microcolony according to two or more microbial cell types, such as Gram status and/or speciation. The dark-field objective may have a numerical aperture selected to facilitate the imaging of microcolony morphological features, residing, for example, between 0.15 and 0.35. A set of dark-field images of a microcolony may be collected during the microcolony growth phase and processed to classify the microcolony. Classification may be performed according to a temporal ordering of the dark-field images, for example, using a recurrent neural network.

A process is provided for imaging a surface of a specimen with an imaging system that employs a BD objective having a darkfield channel and a bright field channel, the BD objective having a circumference. The specimen is obliquely illuminated through the darkfield channel with a first arced illuminating light that obliquely illuminates the specimen through a first arc of the circumference. The first arced illuminating light reflecting off of the surface of the specimen is recorded as a first image of the specimen from the first arced illuminating light reflecting off the surface of the specimen, and a processor generates a 3D topography of the specimen by processing the first image through a topographical imaging technique. Imaging apparatus is also provided as are further process steps for other embodiments.

A compact microscope including an enclosure, a support element, a primary optical support element located within the enclosure and supported by the support element, at least one vibration isolating mount between the support element and the primary optical support element, a sample stage supported on the primary optical support element to support a sample, a return optical system to receive returned light from a sample and transmit returned light to a detection apparatus, wherein the return optical system is mounted on the primary optical support element, and wherein the compact microscope include a at least one of the following elements; a) an objective lens system, b) a temperature-control system, and c) the return optical system being operable to separate returned light into at least a first wavelength band and a second wavelength band.

A microscopic transmitted light contrasting method includes illuminating a sample through asymmetrical first and second illumination pupils and imaging the sample through asymmetrical first and second detection pupil in order to generate, respectively, first and second partial images. The first illumination pupil and the first detection pupil, as well as the second illumination pupil and the second detection pupil, are arranged pivoted in relation to one another and partially overlapping in projection on a plane perpendicular to an optical axis in such a way that first and third regions of an angular space are in a bright field and second and fourth regions of the angular space are in a dark field, and the first and second partial images each have a bright and a dark field component. An image of the sample is generated from the first and second partial images.

Apparatuses and methods are described for detecting inclusions in glass. The apparatuses and methods employ a laser that is configured to project a laser sheet at a first angle from one side of a glass sheet, and a camera configured to capture images from a second angle from another side of the glass sheet. The glass sheet is moved thorough the laser sheet while the camera captures images. One or more processing devices execute image processing algorithms to identify areas of the glass sheet containing inclusions based on the captured images. In some examples, the identified areas of the glass sheet are revisited to confirm they contain inclusions.

A system that includes an interference device including a reference arm on which a reflective surface is arranged, where the interference device produces, at each point of an imaging field when the sample is placed on a target arm of the interference device, interference between a reference wave and a target wave obtained by backscattering of incident light waves by means of a voxel of a slice of the sample at a given depth; an acquisition device suitable for acquiring, at a fixed path length difference between the target arm and the reference arm, a temporal series of N two-dimensional interferometric signals resulting from the interference produced at each point of the imaging field; and a processing unit that calculates an image representing temporal variations in intensity between said N two-dimensional interferometric signals.

An illumination module (101) for an optical apparatus comprises a light source unit (102), which is configured to selectively emit light along a multiplicity of beam paths (112) in each case. The illumination module (101) also comprises a multiplicity of optical elements (201-203) arranged with lateral offset from one another, wherein each optical element (201-203) of the multiplicity of optical elements (201-203) is configured to transform at least one corresponding beam path (112) of the multiplicity of beam paths.