| 摘要 |
A holder for holding biological sample containers such as well plates comprises a flat vacuum bed surrounded by a seal, and an exhaust outlet. A container placed with its lower perimeter on the seal has its flatness increased by removing air from between the vacuum bed and container via the exhaust outlet so that the reduced air pressure causes the lower surface of the container to be pressed against the flat vacuum bed. Samples in all portions of the container may then be imaged using a camera without the need to refocus the camera on each portion. A sample in a well of a well plate can be imaged when illuminated by a beam of light arranged so that a part or all of the sample is illuminated by direct rays that have not passed through the well plate. The beam is redirected to other parts of the sample if a single illumination does not cover the whole sample, so that the sample can be imaged using a series of partial images. To image many wells in a well plate, the well plate is moved continuously past the illuminating beam and the camera along a path that brings each well or part of a well in turn into a position for imaging. The beam is turned on and the camera shutter opened when each well is in the imaging position. The camera shutter may be open for a longer period that the period of illumination, so that the latter determines the exposure time for the image. |
