Patent ID: 8249308

Claim:
A portable fluorescence and transmittance imaging spectroscopy system for use in diagnosing plant health that is used along with an enclosure or shroud for placement around all or a portion of one or more plants or leaves to shield them from ambient light during the daytime and allow the plants or leaves to be imaged in situ, comprising: a) a primary LED light source array with spectral wavelengths in the 400-600 nm range; b) a focus cone that collects the LED light source output and focuses it, to create a relatively balanced LED light intensity at its output; c) a controller that controls the primary LED array to turn it on and off, or certain of the spectral wavelengths on and off such that the primary LED array controllably emits light of a desired wavelength in the range, the light irradiating the plant through the focus cone; d) an imaging device that both spatially and temporally captures a fluorescence image comprising chlorophyll fluorescence emitted by the plant due to the emitted light from the LED array; e) a leaf holder located proximate to the output of the focus cone and constructed and arranged such that it can be temporarily coupled to a leaf, for maintaining a consistent position and distance between the digital imaging device, the LED light source and the leaf and providing for fixed position and non-destructive leaf imaging and testing; f) a secondary light source for providing broad-band transmissive light through the leaf; g) a lens for focusing onto the imaging device both the fluorescence emitted by the plant due to the emitted light from the LED array and the light emitted from the secondary light source of a particular wavelength range that is transmitted through the leaf; and h) one or more memory devices that store the fluorescence image and the transmitted light data received by the imaging device, and store a library of plant fluorescence-intensity data indicative of both healthy plants and stressed or diseased plants, and plant light transmittance data indicative of certain plant conditions.