Optofluidic microscope device

1. An optofluidic microscope device comprising:

a body comprising a fluid channel having a surface and configured to flow a fluid and an object in a flow direction;

a plurality of light transmissive regions in the body, wherein at least two of the plurality of the light transmissive regions have different dimensions for passing light of different ranges of wavelengths;

an illumination source providing illumination through the light transmissive regions; and

an optical detector receiving light from the illumination source through the light transmissive regions;

wherein the light transmissive regions are located between the optical detector and the object being imaged by the optofluidic microscope device.

2. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the surface is the bottom of the fluid channel.

3. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the light transmissive regions are holes, and wherein the different dimensions are different diameters.

4. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the optical detector comprises a charge coupled device.

5. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the optical detector includes a plurality of discrete light detecting elements, wherein the light detecting elements respectively correspond to the light transmissive regions.

6. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the fluid channel has a bottom with a width of less than about 1 micron.

7. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the light transmissive regions comprise an optically transparent material.

8. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the light transmissive regions form an array of holes that extends from a first side of the surface to a second side of the surface.

9. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 8 wherein the first and second sides are substantially parallel to the flow direction through the fluid channel.

10. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the surface is part of a bottom wall, and wherein the optical detector is attached to the bottom wall.

11. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the light transmissive regions form a slanted line.

12. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 11 wherein the slanted line extends from a first side to a second side of the fluid channel, the first and second sides substantially parallel to the flow direction through the fluid channel.

13. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the illumination source provides white light.

14. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 wherein the body comprises a polymeric material.

15. A method of using the optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises:

flowing the fluid comprising the object through the fluid channel.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the light transmissive regions have circular radial cross-sections.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the light transmissive regions comprise holes.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the light transmissive regions are holes with a high index of refraction material in the holes.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the object is a cell.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

detecting a transmission spectrum of the light passing through the light transmissive regions.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising:

imaging the object using the transmission spectrum.

22. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 , further comprising a set of three upstream channels that converge into the fluid channel for positioning the object being imaged through the fluid channel.

23. The optofluidic microscope device of claim 1 , wherein the light transmissive regions form a two-dimensional patterned hole array.