Concurrent fluorescence macro-imaging across multiple spectral regions in the visible and the near infrared

Fluorescent imaging, often synonymous with microscopic imaging, is an imaging modality whereby various features of a target are observed based on assignment of chemical labels. These labels are in most cases indirect tracers of specific structures or chemical compounds which cannot be otherwise identified. The tracers are excited by an illuminating source and they in turn emit light at specific wavelengths. This light is then captured by an imaging device and represented as an indirect observation of the specific feature in the sample. The process of excitation and imaging of the emitted light is performed sequentially and is proportional to the number of tracers or fluorescence species present in the sample. We present an imaging system that can image fluorescent tracers, in the visible and the near Infra-red, simultaneously. This system is capable of illuminating the target with different excitation light sources and capture the corresponding fluorescence images in one snapshot using a series of mirrors to capture different views of the sample. The simultaneously captured image are fused using a computational reconstruction process to present a coherent multispectral fluorescence image. The system is proposed for use in applications where the rapid enumeration of fluorescent species in a large field of view is paramount as opposed to their microscopic image in a narrow field of view. The system was tested using a controlled cocktail solution of four different types fluorescent microspheres and was able to enumerate the microspheres based on their different fluorescent signatures as captured by the system.