Quantitative phase imaging add-on for optical microscopes
This technology is an advanced optical imaging system that uses a technique called interferometry — comparing light waves to extract detailed measurements — at multiple wavelengths simultaneously. By capturing how light interacts with a sample at different colors and processing those images computationally, the system can precisely measure tiny physical properties like thickness, refractive index, or surface topology that would be invisible to conventional microscopes. A key feature is a modular add-on unit that improves image contrast and can be attached to existing microscope setups, lowering the barrier to adoption. The processor calculates optical path delays across wavelengths to reconstruct high-fidelity quantitative images of the sample without needing physical staining or destructive preparation.
What you could build
A retrofit add-on module for research and clinical microscopes that enables quantitative phase imaging across multiple wavelengths, targeting life sciences labs, semiconductor inspection facilities, and pharmaceutical quality-control workflows that need label-free, non-destructive sample characterization.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense and intelligence contractors in Northern Virginia (e.g., materials and biosurveillance programs) and life sciences research institutions in the Richmond-Charlottesville corridor would be plausible early customers or partners.
Readiness: Prototype likely
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- YIZHENG ZHU
- Granted
- March 7, 2023
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 11598627
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.