CALIBRATION DEVICE

1 - 17 . (canceled)

18 . A method for manufacturing a calibration device for a diagnostic device comprising a digital imaging device arranged to record an image of at least one sample container, the method comprising the steps of:

digitally imaging at least one sample container containing at least one biological sample to obtain a first image;

processing the first image to obtain a second image, wherein the processing of the first image comprises applying at least one transfer function to the first image; and

printing a representation of the second image onto a substrate to obtain a calibration device.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

calculating the at least one transfer function such that a third image obtained by digitally imaging the calibration device with the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device substantially corresponds to an image of said at least one sample container obtained by digitally imaging said at least one sample container with the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device.

20 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

computing at least a part of the at least one transfer function by:

printing a testchart with known color values onto a test substrate;

taking an image of the testchart with the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device, thereby obtaining a fourth image; and

comparing the color values of the fourth image with the known color values of the testchart.

21 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

obtaining the first image via the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device.

22 . The method of claim 20 , further comprising:

obtaining the first image by a further digital imaging device that has substantially identical optics and a higher resolution relative to the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device.

23 . The method of claim 22 , wherein said at least one transfer function comprises a transfer function compensating for a difference between the further digital imaging device and the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device.

24 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

applying an adhesive layer and a substantially transparent sealing layer to the substrate, thereby encapsulating the representation of the second image printed onto the substrate.

25 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the step of printing the representation of the second image onto the substrate comprises printing the representation of the second image onto said substrate in color.

26 . A calibration device for calibration of a diagnostic device that comprises a digital imaging device arranged to record an image of at least one biological sample, the calibration device comprising:

a substrate;

a printed layer printed on the substrate; and

the printed layer comprising a printed representation of at least one sample container that contains at least one biological sample of known properties; and

wherein said printed representation is arranged on the substrate such that an image of the calibration device taken with the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device substantially corresponds to another image of said at least one sample container that is obtained by digitally imaging said at least one sample container with the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device.

27 . The Calibration device according to claim 26 , further comprising:

an adhesive layer applied onto at least the printed layer; and

a substantially transparent sealing layer applied onto the adhesive layer.

28 . The Calibration device according to claim 26 , wherein the substrate is a substantially planar substrate.

29 . The Calibration device according to claim 26 , wherein the substrate is three-dimensional.

30 . The Calibration device according to claim 26 , wherein at least one of the sealing layer and the substrate is a state chosen from the group consisting of transparent, opaque and translucent.

31 . The Calibration device according to claim 26 , further comprising:

at least one three-dimensional part arranged on an edge of the device.

32 . The Calibration device according to claim 26 , wherein said substrate comprises a nanoporous silica layer, the nanoporous layer comprising an attribute selected from the group consisting of:

comprising nanoparticles having a diameter ranging between 5 and 20 nm;

comprising a polymeric binder that has a weight ranging from 10% to 25% of a weight of a comparable silica polymeric binder; and

comprising a dry thickness lower than 60 μm

33 . The Calibration device according to claim 32 , wherein the polymeric is polyvinyl-alcohol.

34 . The Calibration device according to claim 32 , wherein the dry thickness is between 10 μm and 40 μm.

35 . A Method for calibrating a diagnostic device, the diagnostic device comprising a digital imaging device arranged to record an image of at least one biological sample, the method comprising the steps of:

printing a layer on a substrate, wherein the printed layer comprises a printed representation of at least one sample container that contains at least one biological sample of known properties, and wherein said printed representation is arranged on the substrate such that an image of a calibration device taken with a digital imaging device of a diagnostic device substantially corresponds to another image of said at least one sample container that is obtained by digitally imaging said at least one sample container with the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device;

imaging the calibration device with the digital imaging device of the diagnostic device, thus obtaining a calibration image;

comparing the calibration image with said at least one biological sample of known properties.

36 . The method of claim 35 , wherein the step of comparing the calibration image with said at least one biological sample of known properties comprises a step selected from the group consisting of:

comparing the calibration image with said image of said at least one sample container containing at least one biological sample of known properties; and

performing diagnostics on the calibration image to determine whether said known properties are correctly diagnosed.