Method and/or system for stabilization, tracking, and/or control of microscopic systems

1. A system comprising:

a positioning device configured to a hold a sample and adjust a position of a sample in response to receiving a drift compensation signal;

a first light source disposed to transilluminate the sample;

a second light source disposed to epi-illuminate the sample;

an optical system configured to receive light from the sample and generate a three-dimensional point spread function from the light from the sample;

an image sensor disposed relative to the optical system that produces an image from the light collected from the sample via the optical system; and

logic electrically coupled with the image sensor and the positioning device, the logic configured to determine one or more drift compensation values from images imaged by the image sensor, and configured to send one or more drift compensation signals to the positioning device to compensate drift.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more drift compensation values is determined based on a drift compensation value of one or more fiducials imaged be the image sensor.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more drift compensation values is determined based on an average drift compensation value of a plurality of fiducials imaged be the image sensor.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more drift compensation values is determined based at least in part on an imaged points spread function of one or more fiducials.

5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the optical system includes a phase mask that is encoded with the three-dimensional point spread function.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the first light source and the second light source alternate illumination of the sample.

7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the logic is configured to determine drift and/or vibration compensation from one or more bright-field images and/or an average number of bright-field images.

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the logic is configured to determine drift and/or vibration compensation from a plurality of fiducial position measurements.

9. A method comprising:

illuminating a sample with a first light source, the sample including a plurality of fiducial markers;

receiving through an optical system a first bright-field image of the sample when illuminated with the first light source, the optical system having a point spread function that varies with axial position of a point of the sample;

determining a first plurality of positions for the plurality of fiducial markers in the first bright-field image;

illuminating the sample with the first light source;

receiving through the optical system a second bright-field image of the sample when illuminated with the first light source;

determining a second plurality of positions for the plurality of fiducial markers in the second bright-field image;

determining a drift value of each of the plurality of fiducial markers based on the first plurality of positions and the second plurality of positions;

determining a sample movement value from the drift value; and

sending the sample movement value to a positioning device upon which the sample is disposed to compensate drift.

10. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising moving the sample based on the sample movement value.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the position of each of the fiducial markers is determined in three dimensions and the sample movement value comprises at least three values for each of the three dimensions.

12. The method according to claim 9 , wherein at least a portion of the position of each of the fiducial markers is determined from a pixel location within the first bright-field image and the second bright-field image.

13. The method according to claim 9 , wherein at least a portion of the position of each of the plurality of fiducial markers is determined from an angle of rotation of a manifestation of two lobes of a point spread function image of each of the plurality of fiducial markers.

14. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising:

illuminating the sample with a second light source during a period of time when the first light source is not illuminating the sample;

receiving through the optical system a third image of the sample when illuminated with the second light source; and

comparing an average and/or peak values of the third image with a threshold value to determine whether the third image was produced from light from the first light source or light from the second light source.

15. A system comprising:

a positioning device configured to a hold a sample and adjust a position of a sample in response to receiving a drift compensation signal;

an optical system configured to receive light from the sample and generate a three-dimensional point spread function from the light from the sample;

an image sensor disposed relative to the optical system that produces an image from the light collected from the sample via the optical system;

a first light source disposed such that the positioning device is disposed between the first light source and the image sensor; and

logic electrically coupled with the image sensor and the positioning device, the logic configured to determine one or more drift compensation values from images imaged by the image sensor, and configured to send one or more drift compensation signals to the positioning device to compensate drift.

16. The system according to claim 15 , wherein the image sensor is configured to produce bright-field images of the sample when the sample is illuminated with the first light source.

17. The system according to claim 15 , further comprising:

a second light source configured to illuminate the sample and disposed so that light from the second light source is reflected from the sample prior to being received at the image sensor.

18. The system according to claim 17 , wherein the second light source comprises an epi-illumination light source and the first light source comprises a transillumination light source.

19. The system according to claim 17 , wherein the first light source and the second light source alternate illumination of the sample.

20. The system according to claim 15 , wherein the logic is configured determine a first plurality of positions for a plurality of fiducial markers in the image.

21. The system according to claim 15 , wherein at least a portion of a first plurality of positions of each of a plurality of fiducial markers is determined at least in part from an angle of rotation of a manifestation of two lobes of a point spread function image of the plurality of fiducial markers.