Patent Document ID: 7718131
Application ID: 11174733
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of imaging a biological sample in a well of a well plate, the well defined by a side wall and a base, the method comprising: illuminating the base of the well by directing downwardly onto the base of the well a beam of light so that 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, and repositioning at least one of the well and the beam to direct the beam onto a further part of the base as many times as necessary for every part of the base to be so illuminated; recording an image of the biological sample each time the base is illuminated, wherein the beam of light is directed onto the base so that no light ray in the beam incident on the base passes first through a part of the well plate, wherein the beam of light has a propagation axis and comprises light rays converging to a focus on the propagation axis, the beam being defined, in a plane parallel to the propagation axis, by a first light ray parallel to the propagation axis and a second light ray at an angle to the propagation axis, arranging in the beam a converging lens centered on the propagation axis and an aperture offset from the propagation axis that passes a fraction of the beam; and the directing comprises positioning the well in the beam before the focus so that the first light ray is substantially parallel to the side wall of the well.