Image analysis and measurement of biological samples

1. A system for analyzing a sample, the system comprising:

A detector;

An illumination source;

A cuvette comprising a base portion, an analysis portion for holding said sample, and a cover portion, said base portion comprising a transparent material, said analysis portion being disposed on a first side of the base portion, and the base portion having a second side opposite to said first side, said cover portion comprising at least one TIR surface configured to reflect light from said illumination source by total internal reflection (TIR) towards said analysis portion, wherein said TIR surface is parallel with the first side of the base portion;

Wherein both said detector and said illumination source are disposed nearer to said second side of the base portion than to the first side of the base portion, effective that the base portion is disposed between the analysis portion of the cuvette and the illumination source, effective that the base portion is disposed between the analysis portion and the detector, and effective that the sample disposed in said analysis portion is disposed between the illumination source and said TIR surface;

Wherein the illumination source is configured to direct light towards the base portion of the cuvette, wherein said light passes through said second side of the base portion before passing through said first side of the base portion of the cuvette effective that:

1) a first portion of the light travels along a path that emerges from the base portion and provides direct epi-illumination light directed to the analysis portion without reflection; and

2) a second portion of the light travels along a path that emerges from the base portion, continues within the cover portion to said TIR surface of the cover portion configured to reflect light from the illumination source by TIR, effective to provide TIR reflected trans-illumination light directed to the analysis portion;

wherein the system is configured to simultaneously provide both said TIR reflected trans-illumination light and said direct epi-illumination light to the sample located in the analysis portion of the cuvette.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cuvette comprises at least one optically non-transmissive surface.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the base portion comprises an optically transmissive surface on each of said first side and said second side and is configured to pass light from the illumination source to the sample located in the analysis portion of the cuvette.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the illumination source comprises a ringlight and an optical pathway from said ringlight to the cuvette.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the ringlight comprises a light-emitting diode (LED) ringlight.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the ringlight comprises a laser-based ringlight.

7. The system of claim 1 , the base portion further comprising an optically clear surface shaped to engage an optically clear surface of the cover portion of the cuvette.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the cuvette comprises a channel, and wherein said detector is configured to image a portion of the sample within said channel in the cuvette.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the cuvette comprises a channel, and wherein the detector is configured to image the entire sample within said channel in the cuvette.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the analysis portion of the cuvette is configured to hold the sample in a static, non-flowing manner during imaging.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the analysis portion of the cuvette is configured to hold one portion of the sample in a static, non-flowing manner and another portion in a flowing manner during imaging.

12. The system of claims 1 wherein the cuvette is configured to hold the sample in a flowing manner during imaging.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the cuvette comprises two or more sample channels for holding the sample or a portion thereof.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the sample remains separate from a detector in a fluid circuit fully confined in the cuvette, where the cuvette is movable relative to the detector.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cover portion of the cuvette has a step-shaped vertical cross-sectional shape.