Imaging Solutions - 2D sensing of oxygen-, pH- and CO2- distributions: Seeing the invisible!
Imaging System and Sensors
The system consist of a camera equipped detection head, a control and evaluation software and sensor foils which are sensitive against oxygen, pH or CO2.
The all-aluminium detector head integrates a USB camera, a microscope lense with manual focus, 8 LEDs which serve as excitation light source and optical filters for excitation and emission. The 10x~70x or 200x magnified images are recorded with a 1.3 megapixel (1280 x 1024) color chip which results in more than 300,000 independent sensing points (= pixel) for the respective sensor response. Maximum spatial image resolution is ~ 3 mm per 1280 pixel (~ 5 µm per pixel), maximum spatial sensor resolution depends on the sensor used and is typically ~ 25 to 100 µm. Power supply of the LEDs is provided by the USB bus which makes the system laptop compatible and a portable device. The dimensions of the detection head are 10 cm in length and 3.8 cm in diameter, the working distance is typically from 1 to 5 cm. The camera can be used free hand or mounted to a stand.
The systems use flexible sensor foils which allow two dimensional recording of oxygen-, pH- and CO2- distributions in aqueous phase over an area, typically ranging from 5 x 5 mm2 up to 40 x 40 mm2. The working range of the sensors cover the typical biological range of the respective analyte: oxygen from 0 to 100% air saturation, pH from 5.5 to 8.5 and CO2 from 1% to 25%. The sensors can be shaped to any desired geometry using a scissor and together with a customized software the imaging solutions systems are presented as a new valuable tool in botanical, pharmaceutical or medical research.
For the measurement the sensor foil is placed inside the respective sample in a way, that the sensor is in direct contact with the medium and the sensor response can be imaged through a transparent window at the same time. Because the method is non-invasive the respective sample can be analyzed without irritation or destruction even over a long time period.
