System And Method For Characterizing Particulates In A Fluid Sample

Abstract

A system for characterizing at least one particle from a fluid sample is disclosed. The system includes a filter disposed upstream of an outlet, and a luminaire configured to illuminate the at least one particle at an oblique angle. An imaging device is configured to capture and process images of the illuminated at least one particle as it rests on the filter for characterizing the at least one particle. A system for characterizing at least one particle using bright field illumination is also disclosed. A method for characterizing particulates in a fluid sample using at least one of oblique angle and bright field illumination is also disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A microscopy system for characterizing at least one particle from a fluid sample comprising:
 a membrane filter disposed upstream of an outlet;   a plurality of luminaires configured to illuminate the at least one particle using both bright field and oblique angle illumination;   a vacuum manifold connected to a negative pressure source and configured for fluid communication with the membrane filter to draw liquid below and through pores of the membrane filter and dry the membrane filter; and   an imaging device configured to capture and process images of the illuminated at least one particle as it rests on the dry membrane filter for characterizing the at least one particle.   
     
     
         2 . The microscopy system of  claim 1 , wherein the oblique angle is coplanar with a flat plane of the filter. 
     
     
         3 . The microscopy system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of luminaires is disposed radially around and directed inwardly towards the filter. 
     
     
         5 . The microscopy system of  claim 1 , wherein the imaging system is configured to generate a composite image comprising oblique angle illumination and bright field illumination. 
     
     
         6 . The microscopy system of  claim 1 , wherein the imaging system is configured to characterize a plurality of particles based on a combination of oblique angle illumination and bright field illumination. 
     
     
         7 . The microscopy system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a well plate having a plurality of wells that each terminate on a filter. 
 
     
     
         8 . The microscopy system of  claim 1 , wherein the imaging device is configured to characterize and identify a material type of the at least one particle using a machine learning algorithm. 
     
     
         9 . The microscopy system of  claim 8 , wherein the machine learning algorithm uses observed features including at least one of size, shape, texture, light scattering intensity and fluorescence of particles to build models. 
     
     
         10 . The microscopy system of  claim 1 , wherein the imaging device is configured to characterize and identify a material type of the at least one particle as it rests on the filter using fluorescent imaging. 
     
     
         11 . The microscopy system of  claim 1 , wherein the imaging device is configured to image the filter both before and after the at least one particle is captured on the filter. 
     
     
         12 . The microscopy system of  claim 11 , wherein the before and after images are processed together using algorithms that processes them to find differences. 
     
     
         13 . The microscopy system of  claim 11 , wherein the before and after images are mathematically registered. 
     
     
         14 . The microscopy system of  claim 1 , wherein the imaging device is configured to identify beads in the fluid sample. 
     
     
         15 . A microscopy system for characterizing at least one particle from a fluid sample comprising:
 a membrane filter disposed upstream of an outlet;   a plurality of luminaires configured to illuminate the at least one particle using both bright field and oblique angle illumination;   a vacuum manifold connected to a negative pressure source and configured for fluid communication with the membrane filter to draw liquid below and through pores of the membrane filter and dry the membrane filter; and   an imaging device configured to capture a before image of the filter before any particles are introduced, and an after image of the illuminated at least one particle as it rests on the dry membrane filter, wherein the before and after images are processed together using algorithms that processes them to find differences for characterizing at least one particle.