US 12,138,014 B2
Apertureless confocal microscopy devices and methods
Dongkyun Kang, Tucson, AZ (US)
Assigned to Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (US)
Appl. No. 17/266,888
Filed by Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (US)
PCT Filed Aug. 7, 2019, PCT No. PCT/US2019/045463
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Feb. 8, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/033518, PCT Pub. Date Feb. 13, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/715,953, filed on Aug. 8, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0307612 A1, Oct. 7, 2021
Int. Cl. A61B 5/00 (2006.01); G01J 3/02 (2006.01); G01J 3/28 (2006.01); G02B 21/00 (2006.01); G02B 21/36 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 5/0068 (2013.01) [G01J 3/0208 (2013.01); G01J 3/2823 (2013.01); G02B 21/0032 (2013.01); G02B 21/006 (2013.01); G02B 21/0064 (2013.01); G02B 21/361 (2013.01); G01J 2003/2826 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apertureless confocal microscope, comprising:
a dispersion element positioned to receive a light beam and to produce output beams having different spectral components for illumination of a target;
one or more lenses, a variable linear filter and an imaging sensor, wherein the one or more lenses are positioned to receive reflected beams from the target upon reflection of the output beams from the target, and to focus the reflected beams onto the linear variable filter positioned at the focal plane of the one or more lenses, wherein
the linear variable filter is positioned to receive the focused reflected beams from the one or more lenses and to allow a particular range of spectral components of the focused reflected beams incident thereon to pass therethrough as a function of a spatial location of the focused reflected beams incident on the linear variable filter, wherein the imaging sensor includes a plurality of pixels, wherein the imaging sensor is positioned immediately adjacent to the linear variable filter at the focal plane to receive the spectral components of the reflected beams after passing through the linear variable filter, wherein the imaging sensor is positioned to allow pixels of the imaging sensor at different spatial locations to capture different spectral components passing through the variable linear filter.