Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V.

Universitaet Des Saarlandes

Universität Des Saarlandes

Ronan Le Harzic

Heiko Zimmermann

Frank Stracke

The invention relates to a method and a device for optical in vitro detection of a movement in a biological sample with a spatial extent in the form of a three-dimensional cell and/or tissue culture or a cell cluster or a sample made of freely swimming microorganisms. The method comprises the following steps: (a) providing a receptacle for the sample (), a light beam source (), an optical unit () and a detector (), (a1) wherein the optical unit () is embodied to illuminate the whole sample () in the receptacle with radiation emanating from the light beam source and to guide at least some of the radiation () of the light beam source (), which is changed at any point within the sample () by an interaction with the sample () in terms of the beam direction thereof, the polarization state thereof and/or the diffraction pattern thereof, to a detection surface () of the detector (), and (a2) wherein the detector () is embodied to generate a measurement signal () in a manner dependent on the detected radiation, the time profile of which measurement signal specifies a time profile of an intensity of the detected radiation () and/or from which the time profile of the intensity of the detected radiation () is derivable; (b) illuminating the sample () with radiation from the light beam source; and (c) detecting a movement in the biological sample () in a manner dependent on a temporal change in the measurement signal ().

Method and device for optical detection of a movement in a biological sample with a spatial extent

The invention relates to a method and a device for the optical in vitro detection of a movement in a biological sample and/or for the optical in vitro detection of a movement of a component of the biological sample. The method has the following step: (a) providing an optical wide-field illumination device for illuminating the sample, said device being designed to illuminate the entire sample, and a detector () for detecting radiation () coming from the sample. The detector () has a detection surface () which is divided into multiple detection regions (). The detector is additionally designed to derive (S) detection signals () of individual detection regions () with respect to time, subsequently rectify (S) the signals, preferably by generating an absolute value or squaring, and summing or averaging (S) the derived and rectified detection signals of all of the detection regions and then providing same as an output signal (). The method further has the steps of illuminating the sample using the wide-field illumination device and detecting a movement in the biological sample on the basis of the output signal () of the detector ().

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Woustviller, France

Ronan Le Harzic