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Confocal imaging methods and apparatus

  • US 7,589,315 B2
  • Filed: 10/11/2007
  • Issued: 09/15/2009
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2005
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

  • (a) a radiation source positioned to send excitation radiation to at least a portion of a sample region;

    (b) a rectangular detector array comprising a plurality of pixel elements in a horizontal axis and a plurality of pixel elements in a vertical axis, wherein said horizontal axis is longer than said vertical axis;

    (c) imaging optics positioned to direct a rectangular image of said portion to said rectangular detector array, wherein the shorter of the two rectangular dimensions for said image correlates with the vertical axis of said rectangular array, thereby achieving confocality in a single axis of said detector, wherein said single axis is said vertical axis; and

    (d) a scanning device configured to scan said sample region in a scan-axis dimension, wherein the vertical axis for said rectangular detector array and said shorter of the two rectangular dimensions for said image are in said scan-axis dimension.

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