US 12,320,732 B2
Apparatus and method for imaging examination of cells on surface of living tissue using moxifloxacin
Ki Hean Kim, Daegu (KR); Jung Bin Lee, Pohang-si (KR); Seong Han Kim, Seoul (KR); Chang Ho Yoon, Seoul (KR); and Sejung Yang, Seoul (KR)
Assigned to POSTECH Research and Business Development Foundation, Pohang-si (KR); SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, Seoul (KR); and UNIVERSITY INDUSTRY FOUNDATION, YONSEI UNIVERSITY WONJU CAMPUS, Wonju-si (KR)
Filed by POSTECH Research and Business Development Foundation, Pohang-si (KR); SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, Seoul (KR); and UNIVERSITY INDUSTRY FOUNDATION, YONSEI UNIVERSITY WONJU CAMPUS, Wonju-si (KR)
Filed on Jan. 24, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/582,018.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2021-0143196 (KR), filed on Oct. 26, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0128338 A1, Apr. 27, 2023
Int. Cl. G01N 1/30 (2006.01); G06T 7/00 (2017.01)
CPC G01N 1/30 (2013.01) [G06T 7/0012 (2013.01); G01N 2001/302 (2013.01); G06T 2207/10004 (2013.01); G06T 2207/10056 (2013.01); G06T 2207/10064 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30024 (2013.01)] 2 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for imaging examination of cells of living tissue stained with moxifloxacin, comprising:
a light source emitting light towards the living tissue;
a single photographing unit photographing the living tissue subjected to fluorescence excitation by the light emitted from the light source;
a lens unit controlling a path of the light emitted from the light source or a path of fluorescence light emitted from moxifloxacin excited by the light;
an objective lens controlling a focus of the photographing unit;
an active lens disposed between the objective lens and the photographing unit, wherein the active lens is composed of one selected from
a deformable mirror having multiple actuators attached to regions of a thin and bendable mirror surface and individually driven to adjust regions of the mirror reflecting the florescence light to have different heights from one another, wherein the deformable mirror changes a shape of the deformable mirror from a planar neutral state to convex or concave lens shapes of the deformable mirror to change a focal position on the living tissue at least 30 times during a single camera exposure session of 10 to 30 ms, and
an electrically tunable lens having a shape realized by adopting a liquid that changes into convex or concave lens shapes of the electrically tunable lens upon application of a predetermined electric current thereto, wherein the electrically tunable lens continuously changes from the convex lens shape to the concave lens shape to change the focal position on the living tissue during the single camera exposure session of 10 to 30 ms
an image generator performing image processing of a cell image of the living tissue photographed by the photographing unit to generate a two-dimensional in-focus image, in which the entirety of the cell image is in focus,
wherein the photographed cell image includes out-of-focus data overlapping with the in-focus data, resulting in a high background signal due to accumulation of a point spread function upon focusing-in and focusing-out,
wherein the image generator generates the two-dimensional in-focus image by removing influence of the point spread function using a deconvolution image processing method, thereby enabling to observe the living tissue in an in-focus state over the entirety of the cell image.