Abstract: This method for estimating the quantity of an analyte contained in a liquid includes the following steps: introducing the liquid into a fluid chamber; mixing the liquid with a bi-specific reagent, the bi-specific reagent being configured for grafting on both a particle and an analyte present in the liquid; lighting the fluid chamber using an excitation beam emitted by a light source, the beam extending through the fluid chamber; acquiring at least one image using a matrix photodetector, the image being formed by radiation transmitted by the lighted fluid chamber; and estimating, from at least one acquired image, the quantity of said analyte in the liquid.

Abstract: This method for observing at least one object is applied by means of an imaging system. It includes the following steps: illuminating the object(s), with a light source, acquiring, by means of a photodetector array, a diffraction pattern, the diffraction pattern corresponding to an image of the waves diffracted by the object(s) when they are illuminated along an illumination direction, the object(s) such as biological entities, being positioned between the light source and the photodetector array along the illumination direction. The method further comprises, prior to the illumination step, addition of at least one marker in contact with the object(s), said or each marker being adapted to bind onto a corresponding object, the binding of said marker onto said object being adapted for increasing at least one characteristic quantity from among the absorption and the optical phase shift of said object.

Abstract: A method for reconstructing optical properties of a diffracting object immersed in a liquid medium using a reconstruction system that comprises a spatially coherent light source and a matrix photodetector, wherein the liquid medium and the matrix photodetector are separated by a distance along a vertical direction. The method comprises illuminating the liquid medium, measuring (with the matrix photodetector) an intensity of a diffraction pattern transmitted by the illuminated medium along a vertical direction, and reconstructing the optical properties of the diffracting object at a reconstruction height according to a reconstruction algorithm from the measured intensity, wherein the reconstruction height has a value less than that of the distance between the medium and the matrix photodetector along the vertical direction.

Abstract: An optical detection process relates to detecting micron- or submicron-sized particles or organisms by means of a contact imaging device, the particles or organisms being immersed in a liquid droplet and the detection being carried out by means of a matrix of photosensitive cells or photosites. The process includes one detection step or a succession of detection steps carried out while the liquid droplet is evaporating. The process may also include a detection step carried out after the liquid droplet has evaporated. The process allows a three-dimensional distribution of the particles or organisms in the initial unevaporated droplet to be reconstructed.

Abstract: The method according to the invention is capable of characterizing a variation in the speed of particles or agglomeration of particles, the particles, such as blood particles, being contained in a liquid (12). The characterization method includes the following steps: introducing the liquid (12) into a fluid chamber (14); lighting the fluid chamber (14) using an excitation laser beam (18) emitted by a light source (16), the laser beam (18) extending through the fluid chamber (14) in a longitudinal direction (X); acquiring at least one image using a matrix photodetector (20), the image being formed by radiation transmitted by the lighted fluid chamber (14); and calculating, from at least one acquired image, at least one indicator characterizing the variation of the speed or agglomeration of the particles. During the acquisition step, the photodetector (20) is positioned at a distance (D2) smaller than 1 cm from the fluid chamber (14) in the longitudinal direction (X).

Abstract: A device concentrating particles in a liquid. The device includes a magnet facing a side wall of a receptacle, free to move vertically to progressively reduce volume facing it, in which magnetic balls carrying the particles of interest accumulate, so as to concentrate these particles.

Abstract: An optical detection process relates to detecting micron- or submicron-sized particles or organisms by means of a contact imaging device, the particles or organisms being immersed in a liquid droplet and the detection being carried out by means of a matrix of photosensitive cells or photosites. The process includes one detection step or a succession of detection steps carried out while the liquid droplet is evaporating. The process may also include a detection step carried out after the liquid droplet has evaporated. The process allows a three-dimensional distribution of the particles or organisms in the initial unevaporated droplet to be reconstructed.