Microscope for unfolded images of birefringence, extinction, and transmission at millisecond time resolution
Introduction Birefringence imaging techniques are employed in a variety of industrial settings, including engineering strain modeling and quality control for textile production. One of the drawbacks of currently available birefringence imaging systems is the long lag time required for each image to be acquired, analyzed, and displayed. The use of these systems in high volume settings, such as pathology labs and industrial quality control, is limited by the lack of real-time analysis capability. Technology description The researcher has created a hardware and software system that permits the real time analysis and display of birefringence. The technology can be fitted to standard microscopes. The analysis software can be run on a standard PC with video acquisition capability. Business opportunity Microscope systems that perform birefringence-based imaging of samples are currently available. These products have demonstrated that there is a market need, but there remains a considerable segment of the market that isn’t being served by the current products. Available products require the user to buy a complete system, including a new microscope. More importantly, they do not allow for real time imaging of samples, and a lag of many seconds occurs as a sample is moved or changed. This invention overcomes both of these critical limitations. Stage of development A prototype system comprising proprietary hardware and software components has been used in the laboratory to analyze, in real time, the birefringence from a variety of samples; including crystals, living organisms, and pathology specimens. Intellectual property position The UW has applied for patent protection on this technology.Type of Offer: Licensing
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