Packard Instrument Company, Inc.

Cambridge, Imaging Ltd.

St. John Innovation Centre

William Wray Neale

John Gordon Rushbrooke

Claire Elizabeth Hooper

Richard Eric Ansorge

Clare Elizabeth Hooper

Philip Stanley

By Ann Neale, Personal Representative

John Rushbrooke

A fiber optic coupling plate ( ) has a sample viewing face for receiving light from a sample ( ), an output window ( ) for conveying sample originating (emitted) light to an imaging detector and an additional window through which excitation radiation can be projected. A primary light is provided through the plate made up of optical fibers which will convey light entering the viewing face, directly and with minimal loss, to the output window, and a secondary light path separate from the primary light path, by which excitation radiation entering the additional window is conveyed to the viewing face for irradiating the sample.

Fiber optic coupling device for detecting luminescent samples

The present invention provides a detection system comprising means ( ) for supporting a multiple sample assay ( ) in an inspection station, plural addressable photosensitive detector elements in an array ( ) which is positioned relative to the inspection station, means ( ) for addressing the groups of elements at regularly occurring intervals of time so as to generate linked numerical values for analysis, means ( ) for computing the arithmetic mean of the linked numerical values read out, and means for supplying as output information the numerical value of the computed arithmetic mean of the linked values. A method of analyzing a multiple sample assay is also provided. In order to enable corrections for the effects of chemical or color quench, the system can be calibrated by performing a large number of exposures of at least part of the array to a sample of known, constant activity and having a known amount or concentration of quenching agent, and repeating this process for each of a number of other samples with differing amounts or concentrations of said agent. The photosensor outputs obtained in the course of these processes are statistically analyzed to provide an index from which look-up tables for color and/or chemical quench correction can be compiled.

Method and apparatus for assay analysis

An imaging system for fluorescence assays includes a fiber optic coupling plate ( ) for transmitting radiation emitted by a sample ( ) towards a camera. This is combined with an interference filter ( ) so as to enable highly sensitive transmission of radiation to the camera, according to wavelength. The interference filter may be combined with a fiber optic coupling plate in which sample sites or wells of an array are viewed by separate fiber optic bundles, each bundle transmitting emitted light from a one sample or well to a discrete region of the field of view of the camera.

Imaging system for fluorescence assays

A fibre optic coupling plate ( ) has a sample viewing face for receiving light from a sample ( ), an output window ( ) for conveying sample originating (emitted) light to an imaging detector and an additional window through which excitation radiation can be projected. A primary light is provided through the plate made up of optical fibres which will convey light entering the viewing face, directly and with minimal loss, to the output window, and a secondary light path separate from the primary light path, by which excitation radiation entering the additional window is conveyed to the viewing face for irradiating the sample.

Fiber optic coupling device for detecting fluorescence samples

A method of detecting the presence and position of labelled material in a sample in which the labelled material either gives off light or can be stimulated to do so. The sample is imaged onto a CCD array which is scanned following each exposure. A cooled CCD camera or an image intensified CCD camera may be used. Measurements are performed on the data signals so obtained, to identify clusters of data values from adjacent regions of the CCD array caused by light incident on those regions. The measured signal values are compared with at least one threshold so as to distinguish clusters resulting from light emitting regions of labelled material from the remainder of the sample and the centroid of each light produced cluster of data values is computed with reference to the camera array, and a signal value corresponding to the centroid coordinates is stored in a memory together with the centroid coordinates of any other light produced clusters identified during the same interrogation. The coordinates from each of a succession of interrogations of the same sample may be stored in an accumulation store to enable a list of the recorded light emissions and/or display of events, to be produced by reading out the store. Apparatus for performing this method is also described.

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Great Wilbraham, United Kingdom

William Wray Neale