Time delay integration acquisition for spatial genomics imaging

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12455238-B2
Application number	US-202318361586-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 28, 2023
Priority date	Jul 29, 2022
Publication date	Oct 28, 2025
Grant date	Oct 28, 2025

Abstract

An imaging system for capturing spatial-omic images of biological tissue samples may include an imaging chamber configured to secure a biological tissue sample placed in the imaging system; a Time Delay and Integration (TDI) imager comprising at least one scan line; a light source configured to illuminate an area on the biological tissue sample that is being captured by the TDI imager; and a controller configured to cause the TDI imager to scan the biological tissue sample using one or more TDI scans of the biological tissue sample.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An imaging system for capturing spatial-omic images of biological tissue samples, the imaging system comprising:
an imaging chamber configured to secure a biological tissue sample placed in the imaging system; a Time Delay and Integration (TDI) imager comprising a plurality of scan lines; a light source and a fiber optic bundle comprising a plurality of fiber-optic lines, wherein each of the plurality of fiber-optic lines is configured to deliver light of different wavelengths to illuminate an area on the biological tissue sample that is being captured by a set of corresponding scan lines of the TDI imager; and a controller configured to cause the TDI imager to scan the biological tissue sample using one or more TDI scans of the biological tissue sample.

2 . The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the controller causes the TDI imager to scan the biological tissue without requiring a mechanical repositioning, stabilization, or focus between capturing scan lines in a column.

3 . The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein at least one fiber-optic line projects light in an illumination area that is approximately circular onto the biological tissue sample.

4 . The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the light source delivers light to the biological tissue sample through at least one fiber-optic line with an aperture having a rectangular shape.

5 . The imaging system of claim 4 , wherein the aperture projects a rectangular illumination area onto the biological sample onto a rectangular field-of-view of the TDI imager.

6 . The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the light source delivers light to the biological tissue sample through at least one fiber-optic line with an aperture having a having a shape that matches a shape of a field-of-view of the TDI imager.

7 . The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of fiber-optic lines have an oval or rectangular shape.

8 . The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of fiber-optic lines is positioned to direct light at different portions of the biological tissue sample.

9 . A method of capturing spatial-omic images of a biological tissue sample, the method comprising:
securing a biological tissue sample in an imaging chamber of an imaging system; directing light from a light source through a fiber-optic bundle comprising a plurality of fiber-optic lines, wherein each of the plurality of fiber-optic lines is configured to deliver light of different wavelengths to illuminate an area on the biological tissue sample; and causing a Time Delay and Integration (TDI) imager to scan the biological tissue sample where the biological tissue sample is illuminated in individual areas corresponding to each of the plurality of fiber-optic lines that are captured by corresponding sets of scan lines of the TDI imager using one or more TDI scans of the biological tissue sample.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising assembling equally spaced lines from a plurality of scan line columns from the TDI imager.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the light from the light source comprises a plurality of distinct wavelengths that are simultaneously projected on the biological tissue sample.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising filtering the plurality of distinct wavelengths using a plurality of filters in front of the TDI imager.

13 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising filtering the plurality of distinct wavelengths using a beam splitter in front of the TDI imager.

14 . An imaging system for capturing spatial-omic images of biological tissue samples, the imaging system comprising:
an imaging chamber configured to secure a biological tissue sample placed in the imaging system; a Time Delay and Integration (TDI) imager; a light source configured to illuminate areas on the biological tissue, each area being simultaneously illuminated with a distinct wavelength; and a controller configured to cause the TDI imager to simultaneously capture a plurality of distinct images of the biological tissue sample, wherein each of the plurality of distinct images corresponds to one of the plurality of distinct wavelengths captured by a corresponding set of scan lines of the TDI imager.

15 . The imaging system of claim 14 , wherein the TDI imager comprises a plurality of scan lines, and each of the plurality of scan lines captures one of the plurality of distinct images.

16 . The imaging system of claim 14 , wherein the TDI images comprises a plurality of individual TDI cameras, and each of the corresponding sets of scan lines corresponds to one of the plurality of individual TDI cameras directed at a different location on the biological tissue sample to simultaneously capture the plurality of distinct images.

17 . The imaging system of claim 14 , further comprising a filter wheel in front of the TDI imager comprising a plurality of filters corresponding to the plurality of distinct wavelengths.

18 . The imaging system of claim 14 , wherein the light source comprises a broad-spectrum light source that combines the plurality of distinct wavelengths onto a single illumination area.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Johnson Joseph R
• Li Ang
• Tsang Min Ching Jean Marc Fan Chung
• Vaez-Iravani Mehdi

Classifications

• G01N2021/6441

  with two or more labels · CPC title

• G01N2021/6419

  Excitation at two or more wavelengths · CPC title

• H04N25/711

  Time delay and integration [TDI] registers; TDI shift registers · CPC title

• H02K15/60

  Hoisting or moving dynamo-electric machines · CPC title

• G01N2021/6484

  Optical fibres · CPC title