Patent ID: 7094562

Claim:
A method for the examination of cells ( 20 , 38 ) in a culture medium for in-situ microscopy in a bio-reactor comprising a microscope with an optical axis, whereby cells in a sample volume ( 12 ), said sample volume having a depth that is defined by the depth of field of the microscope ( 18 ) lens are microscopically imaged and are automatically recorded and processed by means of an image processing system ( 30 ), comprising the steps of adjusting the depth of the sample volume ( 12 ) to the size of the cells ( 20 , 38 ) by successively reducing a separation (d) of the windows while an image size (G) of the cells is simultaneously verified by the image processing system ( 30 ) in a manner that a separation value (D) is determined at which the image size (G) of the cells begins to grow, thus corresponding to flattening caused by the contact pressure of the windows ( 14 , 16 ), and setting the separation (d) of the windows ( 14 , 16 ) to said separation value (D) for the examination.