OPTICAL PRODUCT
Next-Gen Photonics Instruments
A MODULAR APPROACH Nowadays, imaging modules offer several key advantages, especially in modern, integrated or automated life science and biomedical systems. These modules combine optics, illumination, filters and cameras into a compact unit, reducing footprint and allowing seamless integration into other systems. They can be pre-aligned, pre-calibrated and / or optimized for specific fluorescence applications, which simplifies the design and use processes. And they also allow users to customize them by selecting or upgrading excitation wavelengths, emission filters, detectors or control software to match specific fluorophores or assays. Within this approach, the German company Opto GmbH is a specialist in advanced imaging and vision systems, offering modular, plug and play digital microscopes, imaging modules, and job-specific vision modules. The company develops optomechatronic components and systems tailored to markets such as biomedical imaging or microfluidics. One interesting example are the Opto’ s epifluorescence microscopes, which are capable of handling from a single fluorescence channel up to 12 or 16 fluorescence channels in just a few seconds. These fluorescence microscopes are designed for automation and integration into more complex imaging platforms, such as microfluidic screening systems and cell analysis workflows. They include multi-wavelength LED excitation, synchronized to rapid filter switching, and motorized filter wheels for fast spectral channel selection. Some interesting applications are high-throughput screening, DNA / RNA sequencing, microfluidics, and lab-on-chip devices, where fast, multi-color fluorescence imaging is critical.
COST-EFFECTIVE LONG-RANGE IMAGING OCT Optical Coherence Tomography( OCT) is a powerful, non-invasive
Figure 3: Calibration target for fluorescence microscopy: structured metal coating backlighted with a broadband fluorescent layer( Source: IMT Masken und Teilungen AG,).
imaging technique widely used in biological and biomedical research for capturing high-resolution, cross-sectional images of tissue microstructures. Based on low-coherence interferometry, OCT provides depth-resolved information with micrometer-scale resolution and millimeter-scale penetration, making it ideal for studying layered biological tissues such as skin, retina, cornea, and blood vessels. Unlike traditional
Figure 4: Image of the eye, anterior chamber, and lens taken by the new Cobra-S long-range imaging spectrometer, CS800-831 / 28( Source: Wasatch Photonics). histology, OCT allows real-time imaging of living tissues without the need for staining or physical sectioning. Long-range imaging Optical Coherence Tomography is an advanced form of this technology designed to capture high-resolution, depth-resolved images over extended axial ranges. It is very beneficial in different biomedical fields. In ophthalmology, for example, long-range imaging is beneficial for examination of the full anterior chamber, from cornea to crystalline lens, as it permits a more complete image of the eye to be acquired in less time for assessment of eye health. It also facilitates wide-field imaging of the retina, the curvature of which requires a greater range of imaging depth, particularly in clinical settings where the patient is unlikely to remain static. In general medicine, longrange OCT can be of great benefit for lumen imaging in intravascular and gastrointestinal applications. In such scenarios the structures of interest may be more than a few millimeters from the imaging catheter and therefore fall outside the typical OCT imaging window. A long imaging depth can account for such variability in distance between the imaging probe and area of interest, facilitating better imaging outcomes. Imaging range in SD-OCT depends on both the center wavelength and on the bandwidth of the light source. So, longer wavelengths have been traditionally required in order to probe depths greater than a few millimeters in a single scan. 1300 nm has been the preferred wavelength when imaging depths of > 5 mm are needed. But the use of this wavelength requires InGaAs cameras, which are significantly more expensive than the detectors used in other regions of the spectra. In order to offer a cost-effective solution which can extend the use of longrange imaging OCT, the company Wasatch Photonics has developed an
74 www. photoniques. com I Photoniques 134