Particle imaging device and particle imaging method

1. A particle imaging device comprising:

a flow cell configured to flow a sample containing particles;

a light source to emit a beam of light;

an irradiation optical system configured to form a light sheet on the flow cell, wherein the irradiating optical system comprises:

a cylindrical lens configured to converge the beam of light to form the light sheet having a flat sheet surface regulated by a first direction D 1 with a width in a second direction D 2 , wherein the second direction D 2 is orthogonal to the first direction D 1 , and the cylindrical lens being rotated about an optical axis of the beam of light in order to incline the light sheet at a predetermined angle; and

an objective lens configured to converge the inclined light sheet from the cylindrical lens to form parallel light in the first direction D 1 , and directing the inclined light sheet to the flow cell;

a light collecting optical system configured to collect the light given off from the particles when passing across the inclined light sheet;

an imaging element configured to receive the light collected by the light collecting optical system;

wherein the flat sheet surface of the inclined light sheet is substantially perpendicular to an exterior side surface of the flow cell to which the light is entered from the irradiation optical system;

wherein an optical axis of the light collecting optical system is angled with respect to an optical axis of the beam of light from the irradiation optical system at a location where the beam of light impinges the exterior side surface of the flow cell, and the flat sheet surface of the inclined light sheet is not perpendicular to a flow direction of the sample so that the imaging element obtains a plurality of different two-dimensional cross sectional images of the respective particles sequentially obtained over an interval of time as they pass through the flat sheet surface of the inclined light sheet.

2. The particle imaging device of claim 1 , wherein

the optical axis of the light collecting optical system is perpendicular to the flow direction of the sample.

3. The particle imaging device of claim 1 , wherein the irradiating optical system comprises:

a rotation device configured to rotate the cylindrical lens around the optical axis of the irradiating optical system in order to incline the sheet surface of the light sheet at the predetermined angle.

4. The particle imaging device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a processing part configured to generate a 3-dimensional image of a particle based on overlaying the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images of the particle sequentially obtained over the interval of time by the imaging element.

5. The particle imaging device of claim 4 , wherein

the processing part is configured to:

calculate an amount of movement of the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images of the particle on an imaging surface of the imaging element based on at least the amount of movement of the particle in the flow cell and the angle of the light sheet in the flow direction of the sample; and

generate the 3-dimensional image of a single particle based on the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images sequentially obtained by the imaging element relative to the single particle.

6. The particle imaging device of claim 4 , wherein

the processing part is configured to correct a particle size of at least one of the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images obtained by the imaging element based on the predetermined angle.

7. The particle imaging device of claim 1 , wherein

the light collecting optical system further comprises a structure for enlarging a depth of field;

the imaging element receives light transmitted through the structure for enlarging the depth of field.

8. The particle imaging device of claim 7 , wherein

the structure configured to enlarge the depth of field includes a phase modulating element having an effect of modulating a point spread function.

9. The particle imaging device of claim 1 , further comprising:

another light source; and

another irradiation optical system configured to form another inclined light sheet on the flow cell from the light emitted from this other light source;

wherein another flat sheet surface of the another inclined light sheet is perpendicular to the exterior side surface of the flow cell to which the light is entered from this another light source; and

the flat sheet surface of the inclined light sheet is parallel to the another flat sheet surface of the another inclined light sheet.

10. The particle imaging device of claim 9 , wherein

the inclined light sheet and the another light sheet irradiate the flow cell from two mutually different directions.

11. The particle imaging device of claim 9 , wherein

the inclined light sheet and the another light sheet overlap each other at a flow path of the flow cell.

12. The particle imaging device of claim 9 , wherein

the inclined light sheet and the another light sheet are separated from each other in the flow direction of the sample at a flow path of the flow cell.

13. The particle imaging device of claim 1 , wherein the irradiation optical system further comprises

an optical element configured to irradiate the flow cell over a time interval so that inclined light sheets are sequentially formed in a state of separation in the flow direction of the sample.

14. The particle imaging device of claim 1 , wherein

the flow cell is configured to include a first region and a second region having two different widths in a same direction which is perpendicular to a flow path, so that a plurality of particles in the flow path first pass through the first region having a first width w 1 followed by a second region having a second width w 2 , wherein the second width w 2 is greater than the first width w 1 , and wherein the second region is, at least in part, irradiated by the inclined light sheet, and

wherein, in the second region that is irradiated by the inclined light sheet, a third width w 3 of a flow path cross section in the direction of the optical axis of the light collecting optical system is greater than a fourth width w 4 of the flow path cross section in the direction of the optical axis of the irradiation optical system, in order that the plurality of particles can pass through the inclined light sheet for simultaneous cross-sectional images acquisition.

15. A particle imaging method comprising:

forming, in a flow cell, a flow of a sample containing particles;

forming an inclined light sheet on the flow cell, wherein a flat sheet surface of the inclined light sheet is substantially perpendicular to an exterior side surface of the flow cell in a first direction D 1 and the flat sheet surface of the light sheet is inclined at a predetermined angle that is not perpendicular to a flow direction of the sample;

obtaining a plurality of different two-dimensional cross sectional images of the respective particles passing through the flat sheet surface of the inclined light sheet sequentially over an interval of time,

wherein forming the inclined light sheet further comprises:

emitting a beam of light from a light source;

converging the beam of light in the first direction D 1 with a cylindrical lens configured to converge the beam of light to form a light sheet having a flat sheet surface regulated by the first direction D 1 with a width in a second direction D 2 that is sufficiently small relative to the particles, wherein the second direction D 2 is orthogonal to the first direction D 1 , and the cylindrical lens being rotated about an optical axis of the beam of light to form the inclined light sheet; and

causing the inclined light sheet from the cylindrical lens to form parallel light in the first direction D 1 , and directing the inclined light sheet to the flow cell; and

directing the flat sheet surface of the inclined light sheet to the flow cell in order to obtain the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images of the particles which pass through the flat sheet surface of the inclined light sheet; and

wherein obtaining the cross sectional images of the particles further comprises obtaining the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images with a light collecting optical system having an optical axis angled with respect to an optical axis of the beam of light at a location where the beam of light impinges the flow cell.

16. The particle imaging method of claim 15 , further comprising:

generating a 3-dimensional image of particle based on overlaying the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images of the particle sequentially obtained over the interval of time by the imaging element.

17. The particle imaging method of claim 16 , further comprising:

calculating an amount of movement of the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images of the particle on an imaging surface of the imaging element based on at least the amount of movement of the particle in the flow cell and the angle of the inclined light sheet in the flow direction of the sample; and

generating the 3-dimensional image of a single particle based on the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images sequentially obtained by the imaging element relative to the single particle.

18. The particle imaging method of claim 16 , further comprising:

correcting a size of at least one of the plurality of two-dimensional cross sectional images obtained by the imaging element based on the predetermined angle.

19. The particle imaging method of claim 15 , further comprising:

enlarging a depth of field.

20. The particle imaging device of claim 1 , wherein:

a length of the light sheet in the first direction D 1 is at least as long as a width of the flow cell in the first direction D 1 .

21. The particle imaging device of claim 1 , wherein:

the optical axis of the light collecting optical system is substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of the beam of light at a location where the beam of light impinges the flow cell.