Patent ID: 8414830

Claim:
Apparatus for imaging a biological sample in a well of a well plate, comprising: the well plate comprising the well defined by a side wall and a base and containing the sample therein; a holder operable to hold the well plate; an optical beam source generating a beam of light and comprising: a converging lens centered on a propagation axis of the beam of light and an aperture offset from the propagation axis; the beam source operable to direct the beam of light onto the base of the well via the converging lens and via the aperture passing therethrough a fraction of the beam that comprises light rays converging to a focus on the propagation axis, the focus positioned beyond the well, and the beam being defined, in a plane parallel to the propagation axis, by a first light ray parallel to the propagation axis, the first light ray directed substantially parallel to the side wall of the well, and a second light ray at an angle to the propagation axis so that a part of the base is illuminated by light rays in the beam incident on the base that have not first passed through a part of the well plate; the apparatus being operable to reposition the well plate held by the holder and the beam by rotating the aperture about the propagation axis by 90, 180 or 270 degrees to reposition the beam and by moving the holder holding the well plate to bring a further part or parts of the base into line with the repositioned beam, the part and the further part or parts together comprising the whole of the base; and an imaging camera operable to record an image of the biological sample each time the base is illuminated.