Solid-state optical assay imaging apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus for determining a characteristic of an analyte in a sample by measuring the light transmitted from an assay site in relation to the amount of signal modulating component present at said assay site, wherein the amount of said component is related to the presence of said analyte in said sample, said apparatus comprising:
- means for irradiating an assay site and a standard reference site with light while correcting for any nonuniformity in the light;
a dynamic random access memory;
means for directing light from said sites onto a first and a second group of memory cells, respectively, of said dynamic random access memory;
means for exposing said memory cells to said directed light for a predetermined period of time;
means for measuring the states of said memory cells after said exposure of said group of memory cells;
means for comparing said measured states of said first group and said second group; and
means for analyzing said compared states to determine said characteristic of said analyte.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for determining a characteristic of a signal modulating component related to an analyte of interest at an assay site by measuring light modulated by the component. A light source uniformly illuminates the assay site and a reference site. The light is directed from the sites onto a group of memory cells on the surface of a random access memory. The memory cells will decay from a logical 1 to a logical 0 due to the light over a period of time which is a function of the intensity of the light and the reference voltage of the memory cells marking the difference between a 1 and a 0. The digital state of each of the memory cells in the group is measured a predetermined exposure time. The measured states of a group of memory cells corresponding to the assay site are compared to the memory cell states for a reference group. The measured states are then analyzed to determine a characteristic of the analyte.
128 Citations
13 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for determining a characteristic of an analyte in a sample by measuring the light transmitted from an assay site in relation to the amount of signal modulating component present at said assay site, wherein the amount of said component is related to the presence of said analyte in said sample, said apparatus comprising:
-
means for irradiating an assay site and a standard reference site with light while correcting for any nonuniformity in the light; a dynamic random access memory; means for directing light from said sites onto a first and a second group of memory cells, respectively, of said dynamic random access memory; means for exposing said memory cells to said directed light for a predetermined period of time; means for measuring the states of said memory cells after said exposure of said group of memory cells; means for comparing said measured states of said first group and said second group; and means for analyzing said compared states to determine said characteristic of said analyte. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. An apparatus for determining a characteristic of a plurality of analytes in a plurality of samples by measuring the light transmitted from a plurality of assay sites on a solid support in relation to the amount of signal modulating component present at each said assay site, wherein the amount of said component is related to the presence of analyte in a sample, said apparatus comprising:
-
a light source for uniformly directing light to a plurality of assay sites and to a reference site; a dynamic random access memory having a plurality of memory cells, said memory having an exposed surface covered by a light-transmitting non-reflective plate; a lens for focussing light from each said site onto a separate block of said memory cells; a sequencer for sequentially reading said memory cells after a predetermined exposure time; means for comparing the states of said memory cells for each said block; means for comparing said measured states for a reference site block to each of the other blocks; and means for analyzing said compared states to determine said characteristic of said analytes. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method for determining a characteristic of an analyte in a sample, said method comprising the steps of:
-
irradiating an assay site and a standard reference site with light while correcting for any non-uniformity in the light; directing light from said sites onto a first and a second group of memory cells, respectively, of a dynamic random access memory; exposing said memory cells to said directed light for a predetermined period of time; measuring the states of said memory cells after said exposure of said group of memory cells; comparing said measured states of said first group and said second group; and analyzing said compared states to determined said characteristic of said analyte. - View Dependent Claims (13)
-
Specification