Patent ID: 9638912
Date: 2017-05-02
CPC Classifications: G02B

Claim:
1. An apparatus for imaging a biologic sample disposed within a chamber, which sample has a refractive index, and wherein a plurality of lenslets are disposed and positionally fixed within the chamber, and which lenslets have a height and a refractive index, which refractive index is different from that of the sample, the apparatus comprising: a field illuminator configured to selectively illuminate at least a field of the sample and the lenslets; an image dissector configured to produce an electronic image of light passing through the field of the sample and the lenslets; a positioner configured to selectively change the relative position of one or more of the chamber, the field illuminator, and the image dissector to selectively change a focal position of the apparatus along the height of the lenslets; and a programmable analyzer configured to cooperate with the field illuminator and the image dissector to generate an image of at least the field of the sample and a plurality of the lenslets using transmittance, and to determine from the image a representative light transmittance intensity of the sample field, and to determine from the image a representative light transmittance intensity of at least one region of the lenslets, and to determine from the image the focal position of the apparatus using the representative light transmittance intensity of the sample field and the representative light transmittance intensity of the region of the lenslets; wherein the programmable analyzer is further configured to determine a target value coinciding with an optimal focal position of the field illuminator or the image dissector relative to the lenslets, which target value is based on locating a center region of a curve, wherein the curve corresponds to an “S” type plot with cyclical variations between maximum and minimum light transmittance intensity values.