Case Study – 20X Objective Lens & Tube Lens For Observing Blood

Introduction

This 20x objective lens is designed and optimized for a world-renowed medical company for the observation of human blood. Its outstanding resolution is highly useful for applications in biological contact. Its high magnification capability enables clear visualization and high resolution of extremely small sized cells and its biological structures. This customer application aims to explore in-depth the subtle changes in human blood by using the 20x objective lens in order to reveal potential disease indicators and physiological processes. Through the use of advanced microscopy techniques, we will examine the morphology, quantity, and trajectory of blood cellsin order to provide more accurate information for clinical diagnosis and medical treatment. This biological microscopy design and application hold significant importance in gaining a profound understanding of the microcosm of blood and in advancing the field of medical science. Our engineering team works tirelessly to customize and optimize its optical performance in order to achieve maximum effects.

Project overview

This medical research project with Avantier employs a 20X objective lens to investigate human blood samples, focusing on the exploration of single-cell genetic expression and single-cell immune profiling. Leveraging the high magnification capabilities of the 20X objective lens allows for a meticulous examination and analysis at the single-cell level. This approach provides a comprehensive understanding of genetic expression patterns, immune responses, chromatin accessibility, genetic information via linked reads, and the spatial distribution of gene expression in fresh-frozen samples. The implementation of this method contributes to the advancement of knowledge across various facets of single-cell biology and genomics.

Important Design Perspectives

Balancing Resolution and Magnification: An increase in large magnification usually leads to a decrease in resolution. For the 20x objective lens, for instance, Avantier needs to strike a balance between providing sufficient magnification and maintaining high resolution in order to observe tiny cellular structures clearly.In our design process, we implemented a series of effective measurements to enhance the performance of the optical system, ultimately meeting the customer’s requirements successfully. One major improvement involved improving resolution by customizing multiple lenses, not only singlets, but also doublets, in order to reduce achromatic aberration. This strategy allowed us to better control the focusing of light, revealing microscopic details in the images, and enhancing the overall resolution and MTF (Modulation of Transfer Function) of the system.Furthermore, we employed specialized coating techniques in the design of the lenses, including 99.99% AR (anti-reflective) coatings and dielectric coatings. The utilization of these coatings played a pivotal role in enhancing the optical system’s performance. The introduction of AR (anti-reflective) coatings effectively reduced light reflection rate (which means greatly increasing transmission rate) and light scattering. This not only enabled illumination light sources to pass through the objective system, but also achieved high quality imaging while lowering reflection rate, providing end-users with a larger and clearer FOV (Field Of View).

Distortion Control: In the design of objective lenses, it is essential to consider various distortions such as spherical aberration, chromatic aberration, coma, etc. to ensure accurate and clear images crossing the entire FOV (field of view).Under the design process, a front stop was added in front of the aspheric lens to reduce distortion at the outer edges or boundary regions of an image. This design decision requires a precise balance between distortion correction and considerations based on Avantier’s 60+ years experience in optical designing and manufacturing, considering the implications for the lens’s dimension outline and optical specifications. With Avantier’s 50+ optical engineers’ countless experiences and efforts, outstanding optical performance, including high N.A. (numerical aperture), large magnifications, long working distance, can be achieved while ensuring and keeping the uniformity of production quality and fast turning lead time. Avantier has served millions of customers worldwide in the past 60+ years, mainly focusing on microscopic objective design and manufacturing in the last 20 years.

Pincushion Distortion and Barrel Distortion

Figure 3. Field Curvature and Distortion

Lens performance and Affordable Price

Through our meticulous optimization design, compared to lenses that are equivalent to Olympus’s 20x objective lens, our 20X high N.A.(numerical aperture) long working distance objective demonstrates significant advantages in two aspects.

Higher Image Quality: Avantier focuses on enhancing imaging quality through in-depth optimization of optical specifications. We employ advanced technological approaches, utilizing precise manufacturing processes and optimized optical components to achieve higher resolution levels. This means that our lens can more accurately depict microscopic structures and details, providing a more reliable tool for scientific research and medical diagnosis.
Affordable Price: Avantier has successfully reduced production costs, making our lens more competitive and affordable in the market compared with the overall industry. By combining advanced grinding, polishing and coating techniques and machines, with experienced operator experts, we have dropped the production cost as low as possible whilst keeping the quality uniformity and fast leading time, thus providing customers with a more economical selection and with more user-friendly purchasing terms.

Conclusion

Our optimization process balances high resolution and high magnification of the objective lens, employing high quality and stable coatings, and controlled distortion within minimum level, resulting in an enhanced imaging quality. This cost-effective and high-quality 20X objective lens with meticulous design addressing focal length, N.A. (numerical aperture), wavelength and all specifications required, which is compatible with Olympus’ objective lens, has witnessed success in advanced biological blood observation. This research contributes to an understanding of human disease indicators at an early stage, and of the factors that worsen the effects of diseases.. This project marks a significant contribution to medical science and single-cell biology. The most important reason to choose Avantier is this: we can optimize any system to meet customer requirements, making our optical components/assembly unique and thus the perfect application for every kind of inquiry.

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