Abstract: A defined determination of the field of view observed through a surgical microscope is made. To achieve this determination, the relative current position of the plane of the field of view to the position of an object detail of interest is detected in a sighting method with the aid of a position detection system operating according to the laser triangulation principle. As soon as the plane of the field of view and the object detail are coincident, then with the aid of detected optical system data, the position of the object detail with reference to the surgical microscope is determined and, with the detected coordinates of the surgical microscope, the position of the field of view is determined in space. The position detecting system required for this purpose operates on an optical basis and can be integrated into the optics of the surgical microscope.

Abstract: A device for providing a plain image signal indicative of a plain image of surface characteristics of more than one finger on a hand includes an plain platen prism having a flat, rectangular shaped finger receiving surface having a platen aspect ratio greater than 1.33:1. An illumination source internally illuminates the finger receiving surface such that light internally illuminating a bare portion of the finger receiving surface is internally reflected from the finger receiving surface and light internally illuminating a contacted portion of the finger receiving surface in contact with the fingers is not internally reflected from the finger receiving surface. The internally reflected light forms a reflection image of the surface characteristics of the fingers. Optical elements direct the reflection image to a camera. The camera, which has a rectangular receiving surface with an aspect ratio of approximately 1.33:1, receives the reflection image and provides the plain image signal in response.

Abstract: A disk recording/reproduction device according to the present invention includes: a recording medium including a disk and a protective case for the disk; loading mechanism for guiding the recording medium from a first position outside the disk recording/reproduction device in a first direction in a linear manner, then to a second position located inside the disk recording/reproduction device, and thereafter in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction to a third position, the first position allowing the recording medium to be taken out and the third position allowing information to be recorded on the recording medium; a pickup; a pickup driving mechanism for moving the pickup in parallel to a recording face of the disk; a magnetic head opposing the pickup so as to interpose the disk and moving in parallel to the disk integrally with the pickup; and head position switching mechanism for detaching the magnetic head from the disk and positioning the magnetic head in either a recordable position or

Abstract: A sample liquid containing particles are caused to flow through a transparent flow cell. An image capturing device is used to capture different images for a single particle existing in an image capturing area of the flow cell. The image capturing device further preferably captures different images of the single particle from different directions. Further, the image capturing device can capture different images at different focal positions. The different images can include fluorescence images and chemiluminescence images.

Abstract: A storage system in which a plurality of optical or magneto-optical disk jukeboxes which operate on SCSI commands are intercoupled on a network so as to provide a virtually limitless mass storage system. A network server receives SCSI format commands, encodes them to the network format and places the commands on the network bus. A firmware interface unit at the jukebox containing the requested information receives the network format data and converts it back into SCSI format for processing at the jukebox. The jukebox retrieves the data, sends it back to the interface unit which encodes it into network format and sends it back onto the bus to the network server. The network server receives the data, decodes the data and forwards it to the client which requested the data.

Abstract: Device for the remote detection of radiation.This device has an optical fibre (4), a detecting crystal (10), whereof one end is optically coupled to the optical fibre and which is able to emit, by interacting with the radiation (2), a light which then propagates in the optical fibre, as well as an optical cladding (12) surrounding the detecting crystal and which is in optical contact therewith and whose optical index is lower than that of the detecting crystal, so as to confine said light by total reflection. Application to dosimetry.

Abstract: Light having a predetermined wavelength and various incident angle components to be incident on a surface of a scattering medium to generate an equivalent point light source or a group of equivalent point light sources near or on the surface of the scattering medium, and light diffused during propagation in the scattering medium is detected outside, and considering isotropic light from the equivalent light sources is immediately diffused, the optically detected signal is processed to detect a predetermined parameter which is primary information and this predetermined parameter is processed to measure internal information which is secondary information in the scattering medium with high accuracy.

Abstract: A portable scatterometer and/or an angular radiated light measurement instrument that uses a measurement head which includes a double tapered fiber optic bundle with a concave front face to simultaneously collect partial or full hemispherically scattered light reflected from a point on a surface illuminated by a depolarized, telescopically focused, laser diode source, the light rays being received by each fiber normal to its face. The image of the collected light beams is minified and coupled by the fiber optic bundle into an anti-blooming CID camera with an x-y scanning area array which converts the light beams to electrical signals. In a unique real time, computer-controlled, data acquisition and reconstruction process, a frame grabber and a unique algorithm are used to collect over 200,000 points of light, reconstruct the data into a 2D or 3D scatter profile and display the results, all within one second.

Abstract: A apparatus for sensing flow and/or other characteristics of a fluid, including an emitter adapted to project a light beam, a detector adapted to transmit a signal in response to receiving the light beam and a rotatable member for transmitting the beam of light from the emitter to the detector through a quantity of the fluid. Optic fibers/light pipes may be used to transmit light to the emitter from a light source, through the rotatable member and to a processor remote from the detector. The rotatable member may also include reflective and nonreflective zones for transmitting light passing through the fluid to the detector. A plurality of light pipes, blades, emitters and detectors may be used on the rotating member depending on a particular application of the present invention.

Abstract: A broad-bandwidth interferometric system that produces irradiance signals at multiple vertical-scanning positions as a function of optical path differences between a test and a reference surface. The effective peak of the envelope defined by the modulation component of the irradiance signal is estimated by finding the scanning position corresponding to the centroid of a function substantially equal to the square of the first-order derivative of the measured irradiance. The surface height at each pixel is determined directly from digital irradiance signals, thereby greatly reducing the data-processing steps and associated costs taught by the prior art and correspondingly simplifying the hardware requirements of the system for rapid on-line display of height measurements. The approach is free of the ambiguities inherent in multi-peak modulation functions, thereby producing surface maps with reduced artifacts.

Abstract: An absolute measuring interferometer having a measuring interferometer, a tunable laser emitting a laser beam and a control interferometer for adjusting the air wavelength of the laser beam. The control interferometer adjusts the air wavelength of the laser beam to a specific wavelength value at the ends of each measuring cycle. The wavelength of the tunable laser is continually tuned within the specific wavelength interval where the phase change of the interference signal is continually detected during the wavelength modulation process. An absolute measurement is determined by a simple mathematical relationship between the measured wavelength and phase changes.

Abstract: A laser scanning microscope provided with a laser light source, an illuminating optical system for condensing the light from the laser light source to form a light spot on a specimen, a scanning device for causing relative movement of the light spot with respect to the specimen, a photodetector for measuring the amount of light transmitted or reflected by the specimen, and an optical system with positive refraction power for guiding the light beam, transmitted or reflected by the specimen, to the light-receiving plane of the photodetector, wherein the photodetector is composed of a two-dimensional image sensor provided in a position displaced from the conjugate point of the light spot by such an amount that the light beam forms a far-field diffraction pattern of the specimen on the light-receiving plane of the photodetector.

Abstract: A spot densitometer system comprising a viewing assembly, a photodetection apparatus optically connected to the viewing assembly, and a computer interface electrically connected to the photodetection apparatus. The viewing assembly comprises a flat spectrum lamp, condensing lens, film handler, focusing lens comprises a photomultiplier tube optically connected to the viewing assembly, a monochromator electrically connected to the photomultiplier tube, and a control unit electrically attached to the photomultiplier tube and the monochromator. The computer interface comprises an analog to digital card and signal processing software, which convert analog electrical signals from the photodetection apparatus into useful output formats such as color density, relative exposure, and log relative exposure. The position of the film emulsion whose density is being measured may be adjusted vertically and horizontally.