Method and system for evaluation of signals received from spatially modulated excitation and emission to accurately determine particle positions and distances
First Claim
1. A method of operating a particle analyzer for determining a position of a particle, the method comprising:
- detecting, in a detector of the particle analyzer, energy modulated by relative motion between the particle and a spatially modulated pattern including at least three first features that alternate positionally with at least three second features;
recording a time modulated signal that corresponds to the modulation of the energy, the time modulated signal including more than three transitions from an on state to an off state;
determining, by a processor of the particle analyzer, the position of the particle, comprising;
applying a correlation routine by correlating the time modulated signal to a test signal to generate a correlation signal;
applying a fit function to the correlation signal; and
,extracting the position of the particle based on the applying of the fit function.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method is provided for extracting the position of a particle, e.g., a moving or stationary particle that is excited or is emitting light. The method includes, among other steps, detecting and recording a signal based on, for example, the movement of the particle, a correlation step to eliminate noise and to create a transformed signal, a matching or fitting step to match the transformed signal to a fit function and an extracting or determining step to determine the position of the particle from the fit function. In one form, at least two particle positions are detected so that the distance between the subject particles can be determined.
296 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of operating a particle analyzer for determining a position of a particle, the method comprising:
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detecting, in a detector of the particle analyzer, energy modulated by relative motion between the particle and a spatially modulated pattern including at least three first features that alternate positionally with at least three second features; recording a time modulated signal that corresponds to the modulation of the energy, the time modulated signal including more than three transitions from an on state to an off state; determining, by a processor of the particle analyzer, the position of the particle, comprising; applying a correlation routine by correlating the time modulated signal to a test signal to generate a correlation signal; applying a fit function to the correlation signal; and
,extracting the position of the particle based on the applying of the fit function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of operating a particle analyzer to determine a position of at least one particle comprising:
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detecting in a detector of the particle analyzer energy modulated by relative motion between the particle and a spatially modulated pattern including at least three first features that alternate positionally with at least three second features; recording a time modulated signal that corresponds to the modulation of the energy, the time modulated signal including more than three transitions from an on state to an off state; determining, in a processor of the particle analyzer, the position of the particle, comprising; calculating a sliding integral over time on the time modulated signal; applying a fit function to the sliding integral to obtain an estimated position of the particle; calculating a correlation signal to eliminate noise; calculating a derivative signal of the correlation signal; determining a maximum and a minimum of the derivative signal based on the estimated position of the particle; determining a zero transition of the derivative signal; and determining a position of the particle based on the zero transition of the derivative signal. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A particle analyzer system for determining a position of a particle comprising:
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a spatially modulated pattern including at least three first features alternating positionally with at least three second features; a detector configured to detect energy modulated by relative motion between the particle and the spatially modulated pattern and; to record a time modulated signal that corresponds to the modulation of the energy; and a processor configured to; apply a correlation routine to correlate the time modulated signal to a test signal to generate a correlation signal, apply a fit function to the correlation signal, and extract the position of the particle based on applying of the fit function. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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32. A particle analyzer system to determine a position of at least one particle comprising:
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a spatially modulated pattern including at least three first features alternating positionally with at least three second features; a detector configured to detect energy modulated by relative motion between the particle and the spatially modulated pattern and a to record a time modulated signal that corresponds to modulation of the energy, the time modulated signal including more than three transitions from an on state to an off state; and a processor configured to calculate a sliding integral over time on the recorded signal, to apply a fit function to the sliding integral to obtain an estimated position of the particle, to calculate a correlation signal, to calculate a derivative signal of the correlation signal, to determine a maximum and a minimum of the derivative signal based on the estimated position of the particle, to determine a zero transition of the derivative signal, and to determine a calculated position of the particle based on the zero transition of the derivative signal.
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Specification