We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
PURITAN MEDICAL

Download Mobile App




Ultracompact Microscope Enables High-Performance Imaging for Biomedical Diagnosis

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 01 Aug 2022

Metalens technology opens a new way to achieve ultracompact and lightweight optical imaging systems. More...

A metalens is a kind of metasurface composed of subwavelength units with powerful capability for manipulating light. An innovative polarization multiplexed metalens array (based on silicon nanoposts) was proposed to realize a compact and wide-field microscope that breaks conventional field-of-view (FOV) constraints, but the imaging quality is relatively poor due to its low efficiency with background noise, and the overall FOV is still smaller than that of traditional microscope with the same resolution. Significantly improved imaging quality is now possible with higher-resolution imaging, thanks to researchers who developed a polarizer-embedded metalens imaging device (PMID).

The PMID developed by researchers from Nanjing University (Jiangsu, China) is implemented based on a silicon nitride metasurface mounted on a CMOS image sensor with a fixed circular-polarization filter inserted between the two. It eliminates background noises, and even enables zoom-in imaging. The new system is based on a special co-and-cross-multiplexed metalens array and embedded polarizer. By integrating them to a chip-scale CMOS sensor, the researchers successfully developed a high-quality wide FOV and large depth-of-field (DOF) microscopy technique.

Significantly high performances are achieved, with a 4×4-mm2 FOV, a 1.74-μm resolution (limited by the CMOS pixel size), and a ~200-μm DOF (450-510-nm wavelength range). This FOV is around 5 to 7 times that of a traditional microscope with the same resolution. The team demonstrated the outstanding microscopy performance by imaging a large number of bio-specimens. This chip-scale microscope promises to revolutionize traditional optical devices, presenting a new horizon of ultracompact imaging devices powered by metatechnology.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a metalens imager has accessed a larger FOV than a traditional microscope with similar imaging quality,” said Tao Li, senior author and principal investigator at Nanjing University’s National Laboratory of Solid-State Microstructures. “By sweeping the illumination wavelength, the device is able to achieve large depth-of-field imaging simultaneously, thanks to the large dispersive nature of the metalens. This chip-scale PMID enables the implementation of miniaturized portable microscope system, with a thousand-fold reduction in volume and weight compared to a traditional microscope.”

Related Links:
Nanjing University 


Gold Member
Flocked Fiber Swabs
Puritan® Patented HydraFlock®
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
New
Anti-Thyroid Peroxidase Assay
LIAISON Anti-TPO
New
Host Response Immunoassay Test
MeMed BV
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








DIASOURCE (A Biovendor Company)

Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: Pancreatic cancer diagnosis (Photo courtesy of World Journal of Gastroenterology)

AI-Driven Preliminary Testing for Pancreatic Cancer Enhances Prognosis

Pancreatic cancer poses a major global health threat due to its high mortality rate, with 467,409 deaths and 510,992 new cases reported worldwide in 2022. Often referred to as the "king" of all cancers,... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.