PRIORITY CLAIM

[0001] This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63/144,014, filed February 1, 2021, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to imaging systems and in particular to imaging systems for cell cultures.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Cell culture incubators are used to grow and maintain cells from cell culture, which is the process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions. Cell culture vessels containing cells are stored within the incubator, which maintains conditions such as temperature and gas mixture that are suitable for cell growth. Cell imagers take images of individual or groups of cells for cell analysis.

[0004] Cell culture is a useful technique in both research and clinical contexts. However, maintenance of cell cultures, for example, long term cultures, tissue preparations, in vitro fertilization preparations, etc., in presently available cell incubators is a laborious process requiring highly trained personnel and stringent aseptic conditions.

[0005] While scientists use microscopes to observe cells during culturing and may also attach a camera to the microscope to image cells in a cell culture, such imaging systems have many disadvantages.

SUMMARY [0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an improved imaging system and method for displaying cells in a cell culture. An imaging system and method of this type is described in United States application serial number 15/563,375 filed on March 31, 2016 and the disclosure of which in its entirety is hereby incorporated by reference.

[0007] In some embodiments, the use of Phase Field in focus and non-focused images is used to detect the presence of cell objects and discriminate between normal cells and cell region that have experienced lysing. This difference is detected optically using the phase behavior of the bright field optics.

[0008] Cells are composed of material that differs from the surrounding media mainly in the refractive index. This results in very low contrast when the cells are imaged with bright field optics. Phase contrast optics utilizes the different phase delay of the inner material and the surrounding media. For live cells, the cell fluid is encased in a membrane that is under tension which results in the membrane and material organizing itself into compact shapes. When cells lyse, the membrane is comprimised and the tension is lost resulting in the material losing its compact shape. The phase delay due to the cell material is still present but it does not possess a geometric compact shape and optically it behaves, not in an organized manner, but in a chaotic manner.

[0009] Viral Paques are regions of cells that have been destroyed by the virus. This destruction results in a region of lysed cell material. To detect the plaque regions, a method is described to detect the presence of cells in bright field optics that is not sensitive to the presence of lysed cell materials. This enables the plaque regions to be segmented from the general field of normal cells. [0010] Normal image capture for bright field microscopic work attempts to seek the plane of best focus for the subjects. In some embodiments, images focused on planes that differ from the plane of best focus are used to define the phase behavior of the subject. Two images are of particular interest, one above and one below the nominal best focal plane and separated along the z-axis. Live cells with an organized shape concentrate the illumination, forming bright spots in the above focus regions of the field. This concentration of illumination also creates a virtual darkened region in the field below the in-focus plane. For the lysed cells, the shape of the material no longer exhibits a strong organized optical response.

[0011] This behavior is the phenomena behind the Transport of Intensity Equation methodology for recovering the phase of the bright field illuminated subjects. In some embodiments, these out of focus images are directly processed to detect the presence of live cells without detecting the lysed cell materials. To detect the presence of organized cell material, a localized adaptive threshold process is applied to the image of the region called “above focus”. This produces a map of spots where the intensity has concentrated.

[0012] To get shape information, an image taken of the region called “below focus” where virtual dark regions exist which are similar to cell shadows is used. The bright spots are used as seeds in a segmentation process called a watershed. The topography of the watershed is provided by the image taken “below focus”. This produces a set of segmented regions, one for each cell and the cells have approximately the shape and size of the cells. Contours can be defined around each of these shapes and parameters of shape and size can be used to filter these contours to a subset that are more likely to be part of the cell population.

[0013] The contours that remain can be rendered onto an image to detect the regions that are empty. A distance map is created in which each pixel value is the distance of that pixel from the nearest pixel of the cell map. This distance map is thresholded to create an image of the places which are far from the cells. An additional image is created with a small distance threshold to get an image that mimics the edges of the rafts of cells. The first image is used as a set of seeds for an additional application of the watershed algorithm. The second image is used as the topography. The result is that the ‘seeds’ grow to match the boundary of the topography thus regaining the shape of the “empty region”. Only the larger empty regions that provided a seed (i.e. far from the cells) survive this process.

[0014] The contours are laid onto a new image type which is generated using the Transport of Intensity Equation Solution to recover the phase field from the bright field image stack. The recovered phase image is further processed to create an image that we call a Phase Gradient image (PG). This method is able to extract the effects of the cell phase modification from the stack of bright field images at multiple focus Z distances. The image has much of the usefulness of a Phase Contrast Image but can be synthesized from multiple Bright Field exposures.

[0015] In some embodiments, the imaging system and method described herein can be used as a stand-alone imaging system or it can be integrated in a cell incubator using a transport described in the aforementioned application incorporated by reference. In some embodiments, the imaging system and method is integrated in a cell incubator and includes a transport.

[0016] In some embodiments the system and method acquire data and images at the times a cell culturist typically examines cells. The method and system provide objective data, images, guidance and documentation that improves cell culture process monitoring and decision-making. [0017] The system and method in some embodiments enable sharing of best practices across labs, assured repeatability of process across operators and sites, traceability of process and quality control. In some embodiments the method and system provide quantitative measures of cell doubling rates, documentation and recording of cell morphology, distribution and heterogeneity.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method and system provide assurance that cell lines are treated consistently and that conditions and outcomes are tracked. In some embodiments the method and system learn through observation and records how different cells grow under controlled conditions in an onboard database. Leveraging this database of observations, researchers are able to profile cell growth, test predictions and hypotheses concerning cell conditions, media and other factors affecting cell metabolism, and determine whether cells are behaving consistently and/or changing.

[0019] In some embodiments the method and system enable routine and accurate confluence measurements and imaging and enables biologists to quantify responses to stimulus or intervention, such as the administration of a therapeutic to a cell line.

[0020] The method and system capture the entire well area with higher coverage than conventional images and enables the highest level of statistical rigor for quantifying cell status and distribution.

[0021] In some embodiments, the method and system provide image processing and algorithms that will deliver an integration of individual and group morphologies with process-flow information and biological outcomes. Full well imaging allows the analysis and modeling of features of groups of cells - conducive to modeling organizational structures in biological development. These capabilities can be used for prediction of the organizational tendency of culture in advance of functional testing.

[0022] In some embodiments, algorithms are used to separate organizational patterns between samples using frequency of local slope field inversions. Using some algorithms, the method and system can statistically distinguish key observed differences between iP-MSCs generated from different TCP conditions. Biologically, this work could validate serum-free differentiation methods for iPSC MSC differentiation. Computationally, the method and system can inform image-processing of MSCs in ways that less neatly “clustered” image sets are not as qualified to do.

[0023] Even if all iP-MSC conditions have a sub-population of cells that meets ISCT 7-marker criteria, the “true MSC” sub-populations may occupy a different proportion under different conditions or fate differences could be implied by tissue “meso-structures”. By starting with a rich pallet of MSC outcomes, and grounding them in comparative biological truth, the method and system can refine characterization perspectives around this complex cell type and improve MSC bioprocess.

[0024] In certain embodiments, an imager includes one or more lenses, fibers, cameras (e.g., a charge-coupled device camera), apertures, mirrors, light sources (e.g., a laser or lamp), or other optical elements. An imager may be a microscope. In some embodiments, the imager is a bright- field microscope. In other embodiments, the imager is a holographic imager or microscope. In other embodiments the imager is a phase-contrast microscope. In other embodiments, the imager is a fluorescence imager or microscope.

[0025] As used herein, the fluorescence imager is an imager which is able to detect light emitted from fluorescent markers present either within or on the surface of cells or other biological entities, said markers emitting light in a specific wavelength when absorbing a light of different specific excitation wavelength. [0026] As used herein, a "bright-field microscope" is an imager that illuminates a sample and produces an image based on the light passing through the sample. Any appropriate bright-field microscope may be used in combination with an incubator provided herein.

[0027] As used herein, a "phase-contrast microscope" is an imager that converts phase shifts in light passing through a transparent specimen to brightness changes in the image. Phase shifts themselves are invisible but become visible when shown as brightness variations. Any appropriate phase-contrast microscope may be used in combination with an incubator provided herein.

[0028] As used herein, a "holographic imager" is an imager that provides information about an object (e.g., sample) by measuring both intensity and phase information of electromagnetic radiation (e.g., a wave front). For example, a holographic microscope measures both the light transmitted after passing through a sample as well as the interference pattern (e.g., phase information) obtained by combining the beam of light transmitted through the sample with a reference beam.

[0029] A holographic imager may also be a device that records, via one or more radiation detectors, the pattern of electromagnetic radiation, from a substantially coherent source, diffracted or scattered directly by the objects to be imaged, without interfering with a separate reference beam and with or without any refractive or reflective optical elements between the substantially coherent source and the radiation detector(s).

Holographic Microscopy

[0030] In some embodiments, holographic microscopy is used to obtain images (e.g., a collection of three-dimensional microscopic images) of cells for analysis (e.g., cell counting) during culture (e.g., long-term culture) in an incubator (e.g., within an internal chamber of an incubator as described herein). In some embodiments, a holographic image is created by using a light field, from a light source scattered off objects, which is recorded and reconstructed. In some embodiments, the reconstructed image can be analyzed for a myriad of features relating to the objects. In some embodiments, methods provided herein involve holographic interferometric metrology techniques that allow for non-invasive, marker-free, quick, full-field analysis of cells, generating a high resolution, multi -focus, three-dimensional representation of living cells in real time.

[0031] In some embodiments, holography involves shining a coherent light beam through a beam splitter, which divides the light into two equal beams: a reference beam and an illumination beam. In some embodiments, the reference beam, often with the use of a mirror, is redirected to shine directly into the recording device without contacting the object to be viewed. In some embodiments, the illumination beam is also directed, using mirrors, so that it illuminates the object, causing the light to scatter. In some embodiments, some of the scattered light is then reflected onto the recording device. In some embodiments, a laser is generally used as the light source because it has a fixed wavelength and can be precisely controlled. In some embodiments, to obtain clear images, holographic microscopy is often conducted in the dark or in low light of a different wavelength than that of the laser in order to prevent any interference. In some embodiments, the two beams reach the recording device, where they intersect and interfere with one another. In some embodiments, the interference pattern is recorded and is later used to reconstruct the original image. In some embodiments, the resulting image can be examined from a range of different angles, as if it was still present, allowing for greater analysis and information attainment. [0032] In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy is used in incubators described herein. In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy light wave front information from an object is digitally recorded as a hologram, which is then analyzed by a computer with a numerical reconstruction algorithm. In some embodiments, the computer algorithm replaces an image forming lens of traditional microscopy. The object wave front is created by the object's illumination by the object beam. In some embodiments, a microscope objective collects the object wave front, where the two wave fronts interfere with one another, creating the hologram. Then, the digitally recorded hologram is transferred via an interface (e.g., IEEE1394, Ethernet, serial) to a PC-based numerical reconstruction algorithm, which results in a viewable image of the object in any plane.

[0033] In some embodiments, in order to procure digital holographic microscopic images, specific materials are utilized. In some embodiments, an illumination source, generally a laser, is used as described herein. In some embodiments, a Michelson interferometer is used for reflective objects. In some embodiments, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer for transmissive objects is used. In some embodiments, interferometers can include different apertures, attenuators, and polarization optics in order to control the reference and object intensity ratio. In some embodiments, an image is then captured by a digital camera, which digitizes the holographic interference pattern. In some embodiments, pixel size is an important parameter to manage because pixel size influences image resolution. In some embodiments, an interference pattern is digitized by a camera and then sent to a computer as a two-dimensional array of integers with 8- bit or higher grayscale resolution. In some embodiments, a computer's reconstruction algorithm then computes the holographic images, in addition to pre- and post-processing of the images. Phase Shift Image [0034] In some embodiments, in addition to the bright field image generated, a phase shift image results. Phase shift images, which are topographical images of an object, include information about optical distances. In some embodiments, the phase shift image provides information about transparent objects, such as living biological cells, without distorting the bright field image. In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy allows for both bright field and phase contrast images to be generated without distortion. Also, both visualization and quantification of transparent objects without labeling is possible with digital holographic microscopy. In some embodiments, the phase shift images from digital holographic microscopy can be segmented and analyzed by image analysis software using mathematical morphology, whereas traditional phase contrast or bright field images of living unstained biological cells often cannot be effectively analyzed by image analysis software.

[0035] In some embodiments, a hologram includes all of the information pertinent to calculating a complete image stack. In some embodiments, since the object wave front is recorded from a variety of angles, the optical characteristics of the object can be characterized, and tomography images of the object can be rendered. From the complete image stack, a passive autofocus method can be used to select the focal plane, allowing for the rapid scanning and imaging of surfaces without any vertical mechanical movement. Furthermore, a completely focused image of the object can be created by stitching the sub-images together from different focal planes. In some embodiments, a digital reconstruction algorithm corrects any optical aberrations that may appear in traditional microscopy due to image-forming lenses. In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy advantageously does not require a complex set of lenses; but rather, only inexpensive optics, and semiconductor components are used in order to obtain a well- focused image, making it relatively lower cost than traditional microscopy tools. Applications

[0036] In some embodiments, holographic microscopy can be used to analyze multiple parameters simultaneously in cells, particularly living cells. In some embodiments, holographic microscopy can be used to analyze living cells, (e.g., responses to stimulated morphological changes associated with drug, electrical, or thermal stimulation), to sort cells, and to monitor cell health. In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy counts cells and measures cell viability directly from cell culture plates without cell labeling. In other embodiments, the imager can be used to examine apoptosis in different cell types, as the refractive index changes associated with the apoptotic process can be quantified via digital holographic microscopy. In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy is used in research regarding the cell cycle and phase changes. In some embodiments, dry cell mass (which can correlate with the phase shift induced by cells), in addition to other non-limiting measured parameters (e.g., cell volume, and the refractive index), can be used to provide more information about the cell cycle at key points.

[0037] In some embodiments, the method is also used to examine the morphology of different cells without labeling or staining. In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy can be used to examine the cell differentiation process; providing information to distinguish between various types of stem cells due to their differing morphological characteristics. In some embodiments, because digital holographic microscopy does not require labeling, different processes in real time can be examined (e.g., changes in nerve cells due to cellular imbalances). In some embodiments, cell volume and concentration may be quantified, for example, through the use of digital holographic microscopy's absorption and phase shift images. In some embodiments, phase shift images may be used to provide an unstained cell count. In some embodiments, cells in suspension may be counted, monitored, and analyzed using holographic microscopy.

[0038] In some embodiments, the time interval between image acquisitions is influenced by the performance of the image recording sensor. In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy is used in time-lapse analyses of living cells. For example, the analysis of shape variations between cells in suspension can be monitored using digital holographic images to compensate for defocus effects resulting from movement in suspension. In some embodiments, obtaining images directly before and after contact with a surface allows for a clear visual of cell shape. In some embodiments, a cell's thickness before and after an event can be determined through several calculations involving the phase contrast images and the cell's integral refractive index. Phase contrast relies on different parts of the image having different refractive index, causing the light to traverse different areas of the sample with different delays. In some embodiments, such as phase contrast microscopy, the out of phase component of the light effectively darkens and brightens particular areas and increases the contrast of the cell with respect to the background. In some embodiments, cell division and migration are examined through time-lapse images from digital holographic microscopy. In some embodiments, cell death or apoptosis may be examined through still or time-lapse images from digital holographic microscopy.

[0039] In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy can be used for tomography, including but not limited to, the study of subcellular motion, including in living tissues, without labeling.

[0040] In some embodiments, digital holographic microscopy does not involve labeling and allows researchers to attain rapid phase shift images, allowing researchers to study the minute and transient properties of cells, especially with respect to cell cycle changes and the effects of pharmacological agents.

[0041] When the user moves from image to image in the z stack, there will not be smooth transition between images due to the z-offset between images along the z-axis. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, further image processing is performed on each of the images in the z-stack for a particular location of a well to produce a smooth transition.

[0042] These and other features and advantages, which characterize the present non-limiting embodiments, will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory only and are not restrictive of the non-limiting embodiments as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the imaging system according to the invention;

[0044] Fig. 2 is the imaging system of Fig. 1 with walls removed to reveal the internal structure;

[0045] Fig. 3 is a top view of the imaging system of Fig.1 with the walls removed;

[0046] Fig. 4 is a right side view of the imaging system of Fig. 1;

[0047] Fig. 5 is a left side view of the imaging system of Fig. 1;

[0048] Fig. 6 is a block diagram of the circuitry of the imaging system of Fig. 1;

[0049] Fig. 7 is a not to scale diagram of the issues focusing on a plate with wells when it is in or out of calibration;

[0050] Fig. 8 is a not to scale diagram of a pre-scan focus method according to the present invention when the plate is in and out of calibration; [0051] Figs. 9a-9d show the steps of one method of image processing according to the present invention;

[0052] Figs. 10a- 10c show different scenarios of the method of Figs. 9a-9d;

[0053] Fig. 11 shows another step of the method of Figs. 9a-9d;

[0054] Fig. 12 shows another method of image processing according to the present invention;

[0055] Figures 13A-13D show unfocused, focused, zoomed and panned views of cells being image;

[0056] Figure 14 shows physical controls for focusing, zooming and panning on cells being imaged;

[0057] Figure 15 shows the images created by live cells and lysed cells subjected to bright field illumination;

[0058] Figure 16A and Figure 16B show the above focus image of Figure 15 and the threshold result of the image; and

[0059] Figure 17 is rendered Phase Gradient image according to embodiments of the invention .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] Referring now to Fig. 1, a cell imaging system 10 is shown. Preferably, the system 10 is fully encased with walls 1 la-1 If so that the interior of the imager can be set at 98.6 degrees F with a CO2 content of 5%, so that the cells can remain in the imager without damage. The temperature and the CO2 content of the air in the system 10 is maintained by a gas feed port 14 (shown in Fig. 2) in the rear wall l ie. Alternatively, a heating unit can be installed in the system 10 to maintain the proper temperature. [0061] At the front wall 11c of the system 10, is a door 12 that is hinged to the wall 11c and which opens a hole H through which the sliding platform 13 exits to receive a plate and closes hole H when the platform 13 is retracted into the system 10.

[0062] The system 10 can also be connected to a computer or tablet for data input and output and for the control of the system. The connection is by way of an ethemet connector 15 in the rear wall 1 le of the system as shown in Fig. 2.

[0063] Fig. 2 shows the system with walls 1 lb and 11c removed to show the internal structure. The extent of the platform 13 is shown as well as the circuit board 15 that contains much of the circuitry for the system, as will be explained in more detail hereinafter.

[0064] Fig. 3 shows a top view of the imaging system where plate P having six wells is loaded for insertion into the system on platform 13. Motor 31 draws the platform 13 and the loaded plate P into the system 10. The motor 31 moves the platform 13 in both the X-direction into and out of the system and in the Y-direction by means of a mechanical transmission 36. The movement of the platform is to cause each of the wells to be placed under one of the LED light clusters 32a, 32b, and 32c which are aligned with microscope optics 33a, 33b and 33c respectively which are preferably 4X, 10X and 20X phase-contrast and brightfield optics which are shown in Fig. 4.

[0065] As used herein, an "imager" refers to an imaging device for measuring light (e.g., transmitted or scattered light), color, morphology, or other detectable parameters such as a number of elements or a combination thereof. An imager may also be referred to as an imaging device. In certain embodiments, an imager includes one or more lenses, fibers, cameras (e.g., a charge-coupled device or CMOS camera), apertures, mirrors, light sources (e.g., a laser or lamp), or other optical elements. An imager may be a microscope. In some embodiments, the imager is a bright-field microscope. In other embodiments, the imager is a holographic imager or microscope. In other embodiments, the imager is a fluorescence microscope.

[0066] As used herein, a "fluorescence microscope" refers to an imaging device which is able to detect light emitted from fluorescent markers present either within and/or on the surface of cells or other biological entities, said markers emitting light at a specific wavelength in response to the absorption a light of a different wavelength.

[0067] As used herein, a "bright-field microscope" is an imager that illuminates a sample and produces an image based on the light absorbed by or passing through the sample. Any appropriate bright-field microscope may be used in combination with an incubator provided herein.

[0068] As used herein, a "holographic imager" is an imager that provides information about an object (e.g., sample) by measuring both intensity and phase information of electromagnetic radiation (e.g., a wave front). For example, a holographic microscope measures both the light transmitted after passing through a sample as well as the interference pattern (e.g., phase information) obtained by combining the beam of light transmitted through the sample with a reference beam.

[0069] A holographic imager may also be a device that records, via one or more radiation detectors, the pattern of electromagnetic radiation, from a substantially coherent source, diffracted or scattered directly by the objects to be imaged, without interfering with a separate reference beam and with or without any refractive or reflective optical elements between the substantially coherent source and the radiation detector(s).

[0070] In some embodiments, an incubator cabinet includes a single imager. In some embodiments, an incubator cabinet includes two imagers. In some embodiments, the two imagers are the same type of imager (e.g., two holographic imagers or two bright-field microscopes). In some embodiments, the first imager is a bright-field microscope and the second imager is a holographic imager. In some embodiments, an incubator cabinet comprises more than 2 imagers. In some embodiments, cell culture incubators comprise three imagers. In some embodiments, cell culture incubators having 3 imagers comprise a holographic microscope, a bright-field microscope, and a fluorescence microscope.

[0071] As used herein, an "imaging location" is the location where an imager images one or more cells. For example, an imaging location may be disposed above a light source and/or in vertical alignment with one or more optical elements (e.g., lens, apertures, mirrors, objectives, and light collectors).

[0072] Referring to Figs. 4-5, Under the control of the circuitry on board 15, each well is aligned with a desired one of the three optical units 33a-33c and the corresponding LED is turned on for brightfield illumination. The image seen by the optical unit is recorded by the respective video camera 35a, 35b, and 35c corresponding to the optical unit. The imaging and the storing of the images are all under the control of the circuitry on board 15. After the imaging is completed, the platform with the loaded plate is ejected from the system and the plate can be removed and placed in an incubator. Focusing of the microscope optics is along the z axis and images taken at different distances along the z axis is called the z-stack.

[0073] Fig. 6 is a block diagram of the circuitry for controlling the system 10. The system is run by processor 24 which is a microcontroller or microprocessor which has associated RAM 25 and ROM 26 for storage of firmware and data. The processor controls LED driver 23 which turns the LEDs on and off as required. The motor controller 21 moves the motor 15 to position the wells in an imaging position as desired by the user. In a preferred embodiment, the system can effect a quick scan of the plate in less than 1 minute and a full scan in less than 4 minutes.

[0074] The circuitry also includes a temperature controller 28 for maintaining the temperature at 98.6 degrees F. The processor 24 is connected to an I/O 27 that permits the system to be controlled by an external computer such as a laptop or desktop computer or a tablet such as an iPad or Android tablet. The connection to an external computer allows the display of the device to act as a user interface and for image processing to take place using a more powerful processor and for image storage to be done on a drive having more capacity. Alternatively, the system can include a display 29 such as a tablet mounted on one face of the system and an image processor 22 and the RAM 25 can be increased to permit the system to operate as a self-contained unit.

[0075] The image processing either on board or external, has algorithms for artificial intelligence and intelligent image analysis. The image processing permits trend analysis and forecasting, documentation and reporting, live/dead cell counts, confluence percentage and growth rates, cell distribution and morphology changes, and the percentage of differentiation.

[0076] When a new cell culture plate is imaged for the first time by the microscope optics, a single z-stack, over a large focal range, of phase contrast images is acquired from the center of each well using the 4x camera. The z-height of the best focused image is determined using the focusing method, described below. The best focus z-height for each well in that specific cell culture plate is stored in the plate database in RAM 25 or in a remote computer. When a future image scan of that plate is done using either the 4x or lOx camera, in either brightfield or phase contrast imaging mode, the z-stack of images collected for each well are centered at the best focus z-height stored in the plate database. When a future image scan of that plate is done using the 20x camera, a pre-scan of the center of each well using the lOx camera is performed and the best focus z-height is stored in the plate database to define the center of the z-stack for the 20x camera image acquisition.

[0077] Each whole well image is the result of the stitching together of a number of tiles. The number of tiles needed depend on the size of the well and the magnification of the camera objective. A single well in a 6-well plate is the stitched result of 35 tiles from the 4x camera, 234 tiles from the lOx camera, or 875 tiles from the 20x camera.

[0078] The higher magnification objective cameras have smaller optical depth, that is, the z- height range in which an object is in focus. To achieve good focus at higher magnification, a smaller z-offset needs to be used. As the magnification increases, the number of z-stack images needs to increase or the working focal range needs to decrease. If the number of z-stack images increase, more resources are required to acquire the image, time, memory, processing power. If the focal range decreases, the likelihood that the cell images will be out of focus is greater, due to instrument calibration accuracy, cell culture plate variation, well coatings, etc.

[0079] In one implementation, the starting z-height value is determined by a database value assigned stored remotely or in local RAM. The z-height is a function of the cell culture plate type and manufacturer and is the same for all instruments and all wells. Any variation in the instruments, well plates, or coatings needs to be accommodated by a large number of z-stacks to ensure that the cells are in the range of focus adjustment. In practice this results in large imaging times and is intolerance to variation, especially for higher magnification objective cameras with smaller depth of field. For example, the 4x objective camera takes 5 z-stack images with a z- offset of 50pm for a focal range of 5*50=250pm. The lOx objective camera takes 11 z-stack images with a z-offset of 20pm for a focal range of 11 *20=220pm. The 20x objective camera takes 11 z-stack images with a z-offset of 10pm for a focal range of 11 * 10=110pm. [0080] The processor 24 creates a new plate entry for each plate it scans. The user defines the plate type and manufacturer, the cell line, the well contents, and any additional experiment condition information. The user assigns a plate name and may choose to attach a barcode to the plate for easier future handling. When that plate is first scanned, a pre-scan is performed. For the pre-scan, the image processor 22 takes a z-stack of images of a single tile in the center of each well. The pre-scan uses the phase contrast imaging mode to find the best focus image z- height. The pre-scan takes a large z-stack range so it will find the focal height over a wider range of instrument, plate, and coating variation. The best focus z-height for each well is stored in the plate database such that future scans of that well will use that value as the center value for the z- height.

[0081] Although the pre-scan method was described using the center of a well as the portion where the optimal z-height is measured, it is understood that the method can be performed using other portions of the wells and that the portion measured can be different or the same for each well on a plate.

[0082] In one embodiment, the low magnification pre-scan takes a series (e.g. 11 images) of z- height images with a z-offset between images sufficient to provide adequate coverage of a focus range exceeding the normal focus zone of the optics. In a specific embodiment, the 4x pre-scan takes 11 z-height images with a z-offset of 50pm for a focus range of 11 *50=550pm. For a 6- well plate, the 4x pre-scan takes 11 images per well, 6* 11=66 images per plate. The 4x pre-scan best focus z-heights are used for the 4x and lOx scans. The additional imaging is not significant compared to the 35*5*6=1050 images for the 4x scan, and 234*11*6=15444 images for the lOx scan. For a 20x scan, the system performs a lOx pre-scan in addition to the 4x pre-scan to define the best focus z-height values to use as the 20x center z-height value for the z-stacks. It is advantageous to limit the number of pre-scan z-height measurements to avoid imaging the bottom plastic surface of the well since it may have debris that could confuse the algorithms. [0083] As illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, the pre-scan focus method relies on z-height information in the plate database to define the z-height values to image. Any variation in the instrument, well plate, or customer applied coatings eats away at the z-stack range from which the focused image is derived, as shown in Figure 7. There is the possibility that the best focus height will be outside of the z-stack range. The pre-scan method enables the z-stack range to be adjustable for each well, so drooping of the plate holder, or variation of the plate, can be accommodated within a wider range as shown in Figure 8.

[0084] A big advantage of this pre-scan focus method is that it can focus on well bottoms without cells. For user projects like gene editing in which a small number of cells are seeded, this is huge. In the pre-scan focus method, a phase contrast pre-scan enables the z-height range to be set correctly for a brightfield image.

[0085] Practical implementation of lOx and 20x cameras is difficult due to the small depth of field and the subsequent limited range of focus for a reasonably sized z-stack. This pre-scan focus method enables the z-stack to be optimally centered around on the experimentally determined z-height, providing a better chance of the focal plane being in range.

[0086] Since the z-stacks are centered around the experimentally determined best focus height, the size of the z-stack can be reduced. The reduction in the total number of images reduces the scan time, storage, and processing resources of the system.

[0087] In some embodiments, the pre-scan is most effective when performed in a particular imaging mode, such as phase contrast. In such a circumstance, the optimal z-height determined using the pre-scan in that imaging mode can be applied to other imaging modes, such as brightfield, fluorescence, or luminescence.

[0088] In another embodiment, a method for segmentation of images of cell colonies in wells is described. A demonstration of the method is shown in Figures 9a-d. Three additional results from other raw images are shown in Figures lOa-c that give an idea of the type of variation the algorithm can now handle. The methods segment stem, cancer, and other cell colony types. The method manifests the following benefits: it is faster to calculate than previous methods s based on spatial frequency such as Canny, Sobel, and localized Variance and entropy based methods; a single set of parameters serves well to find both cancer and stem cell colonies; and the algorithm performs with different levels of confluence and they do not mitigate the ability of the method to properly perform segmentation.

[0089] Figure 9a shows a raw image of low-confluence cancer cell colonies, Figure 9b shows a remap image of Figure 9a in accordance with the algorithm, (a), Figure 9c shows a remap image of Figure 9b in accordance with the algorithm, and Figure 9d shows the resulting contours in accordance with the algorithm.

[0090] Figure 10 shows example contours obtained from a method using the algorithm for various scenarios. Figure 10a is the scenario of high confluence cancer cells, Figure 10b is the scenario for low confluence stem cells, and Figure 10c is the scenario for medium confluence stem cells.

[0091] In accordance with the algorithm, the following steps are performed to perform the segmentation:

[0092] 1. A remap of the raw input image is first calculated. Figure 9b shows a completed remap of Figure 9a. The remap is computed as follows: [0093] a. A remap image is created of the same size as the raw image and all its values are set to zero;

[0094] b. an elliptical, rectangular or other polygon-shaped mask is formed. A 10x10 elliptical mask is used for the remap computed in Figure 9b;

[0095] c. the mask is centered over each pixel in the raw image;

[0096] d. a gray scale histogram is created from the pixels under the mask;

[0097] e. a count of how many bins in the histogram hold a value of 1 or greater is accumulated; and

[0098] f. the calculated count values for all of the pixel locations replace the zero values at their corresponding pixel positions in the remap image.

[0099] 2. A threshold is calculated using Equation 1 below and the algorithm remap image is thresholded to produce a binary image. Such an image is shown in Figure 9c.

[0100] 3. Optionally finding the cell colony contours in the image, as shown in Figure 9d, by the thresholded image superimposed on the raw image.

[0101] Equation 1 : Threshold = — 0.22009 x [Mean image gray level] — 51.7875

[0102] The slope and offset of Equation 1 were calculated using linear regression for a set of values, where the mean gray scale level of each sample image was plotted on the vertical axis and an empirically determined good threshold value for each sample image was plotted on the horizontal axis for a sample set of images that represented the variation of the population. The linear regression performed to set these values is shown in Figure 11.

[0103] The well metrics are accounted for in the algorithm as follows. Assume some finite-size region R c Z. For a random variable X taking on a finite amount of values, the max-entropy or Hartley entropy Ho(X) represents the greatest amount of entropy possible for a distribution that takes on X’s values. It equals the log of the size of X’s support.

[0104] A scene S is a map chosen randomly according to some distribution over those of the form f : R — > { 1, . . . , N }. Here R represents pixel positions, S’s range represents possible intensity values, and S’s domain represents pixel coordinates.

[0105] A Shannon entropy metric for scenes can be defined as follows:

[0106] H(S) := - X P(S(r) = i) • log(P(S(r) = i)), i=l. r ~ Uniform(R) (2)

[0107] In Equation 2, ~ means ‘distributed like,’ and 01og(0) is interpreted as 0. H(S) represents the expected amount of information conveyed by a randomly selected pixel in scene S. This can be seen as a heuristic for the amount of structure in a locale. Empirical estimation of H(S) from an observed image is challenging for various reasons. Among them:

[0108] If intensity of a pixel in S is distributed with non-eligible weight over a great many possible intensities, then the sum is very sensitive to small errors in estimation of the distribution;

[0109] Making the region R bigger to improve distribution estimation reduces the metric’s localization and increases computational expense; and

[0110] Binning the intensities (reducing N) to reduce possible variation in distributions makes the sum less sensitive to estimation error, but also makes the metric less sensitive to the scene’s structure.

[0111] Instead of estimating Shannon entropy, we estimate a closely related quantity. We choose a threshold t > 0 and form a statistic M(S; t):

[0112] N 1 M(S; t) := X |{ r:S(r)=i }|> t i=l. (3) [0113] where |.| is set size and Ip equals 1 if proposition P is true and 0 otherwise. Now log M(S; t) can be interpreted as an estimator for a particular max-entropy, as defined above, for a variable closely related to S(r) from Equation 2. In particular it is a biased-low estimator for the maxentropy of S(r) after conditioning away improbable intensities, threshold set by parameter t. Very roughly, Shannon entropy represents ‘how complex is a random pixel in S'?’ while log M(S;t) estimates ‘how much complexity is possible for a typical pixel in S?’. The described remap equals M(S; 1) and we can calculate a good threshold for M(S; 1) that is closely linearly correlated with stage confluence.

[0114] This algorithm is used to perform the pre-processing to create the colony segmentation that underlies the iPSC colony tracking that is preferably performed in phase contrast images. For cells that do not tend to cluster and/or are bigger another algorithm is used, as shown in Figure 12 wherein we perform the segmentation (cell counting and confluence calculation) using the bright field image stacks (not individual images) with a technique for picking the best focus image in a bright field stack.

[0115] In accordance with the algorithm, the following steps are performed:

[0116] 1. Given a stack of images, we calculate a new image that holds the variance (or range or standard deviation) of each pixel position for the whole stack. For example, if we have a stack of nine images, we would take the pixel gray scale values of the pixels at position (0, 0) for images 0-8, calculate their variance and store the result in position (0,0) for what we call the "variance image". We then do that for pixel (0, 1), (0, 2), ... , (m, n).

[0117] 2. The pixels with the highest variance are the ones that have different values across the whole stack. We threshold the variance image, perform some segmentation, and that creates a mask of the pixels that are dark at the bottom of the stack, transparent in the middle, and bright at the top of the stack. These cells represent transparent objects in the images (cells). We call this the "cell mask." The cell mask is shown as the contours in the Figure 12.

[0118] 3. We next create an "average image" of all the image in the stack. Each pixel position of the average image holds the average of all the pixels for its corresponding position in the image stack.

[0119] 4. Then, we calculate the median pixel color of all the pixels that are NOT on the mask for all and if a pixel in the average image is darker than a "darkness threshold" value or brighter than a "brightness threshold" value, it is changed to the median value. The average image, when it has been modified in this way is called the "synthetic background image"

[0120] 5. We then calculate the grayscale histogram of the synthetic background image (shown as the curve 121 on the graph at the bottom left of Figure 12).

[0121] 6. We then calculate the grayscale histogram of the pixels under the cell mask (shown as the histogram 122 on the graph at the bottom left of Figure 12).

[0122] When the shape of the histogram 122 is closest to the shape of the curve 121, that is the point when the cells have disappeared (they are transparent, so the best focus point is when they disappear). This is what we call "best focus". The matching of the two histograms is signified by the height of line 123. When the best match occurs, the height of line 123 is at a maximum. The cells below the best focus are dark and the cells above the best focus are bright.

[0123] We can then use this knowledge to create hybrid images well suited for counting cells, evaluating morphology, etc. The graph on the bottom right of Figure 12 represents the amount of difference between the cells histogram and the synthetic background histogram. The minimum of that curve at 124 is the position of the best focus image. [0124] The plaque counting assay is the gold standard to quantifying the number of infectious virus particles (virions) in a sample. It starts by diluting the sample down, by thousands to millions-fold, to the point where a small aliquot, say 100 pL might contain 30 virions. Viruses require living cells to multiply, human viruses require human cells, hence plaque assays of human viruses typically start with a monolayer of human cells growing in a dish, such as a well of a 6 or 24 well plate.

[0125] The aliquot of virions is then spread over the surface of the human cells to infect and destroy them as the virus multiplies. Because of the very small numbers, individual virions typically land several mm apart. As they multiply, they kill cells in an ever-expanding circle. This circle of dead cells is called a plaque.

[0126] The viruses are left to kill the cells for a period of days, long enough for the plaques to grow to a visible size (2-3mm), but not so long that the plaques grow into each other. At the end of this period, the still living cells are killed and permanently fixed to the surface of the dish with formaldehyde. The dead cells are washed away and the remaining fixed cells are stained with a dye for easier visualization.

[0127] The plaques, which now reveal themselves as bare patches on the disk, are counted and each plaque is assumed to have started from a single virion, thus effectively counting the number of virions in the original aliquot.

[0128] Until the cells are fixed, rinsed, and stained, the plaques are not readily apparent to the eye, or microscope. Since you can't see the plaques while the virus is growing, nor can you continue the experiment once the cells have been fixed, you have to decide when to stop the experiment based on experience. If the virus is harmful i.e., Zika, Ebola, any manual manipulations have to be done in a BL4 lab, which requires getting into a full isolation suit. It is not pleasant so people tend to avoid doing that whenever they can. It would very advantageous to have an instrument that could monitor the course of a plaque assay over time without human intervention or having to interfere with the cells in any way.

[0129] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the imaging system and methods described above enable one to take pictures of the entire surface of all the wells in a plate at a magnification of 4X. Even looking at these magnified images, it is not obvious what constitutes a plaque, although there are clearly differences in the character of the images. It is possible, using computer algorithms and machine learning, to identify plaques. However, the reliability of the of this method can be increased, in accordance with the invention, by taking a sequence of images, for example, 4 times a day, of the growing viral infection. The computer algorithms can follow the changes in appearance of the cells to deduce where and how many plaques are in the well. Hence method and system of the invention uses a time series of images to identify plaques.

[0130] Using a time series also allows the possibility of measuring the growth rate of the viral plaque, which may be useful biological information. In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, the sequence of images may range from 1 to 24 times a day, preferably 2-12 and most preferably 4-8. The advantage is that the experiment does not have to be terminated for imaging, e.g., the virus need not be killed for each imaging.

[0131] Another improvement makes use of the fact that the method and system have images of cells that manifest plaques and cells that do not manifest plaques. The method and system can calculate, from the described images, features of the artifacts in the scenes.

[0132] For each image the method and system can create a row in a data table that holds the features in addition to whether there are plaques. From the table, the method and system can use machine learning to build models (e.g. Support Vector Machine, Random Forest Classifier, Multilayer Perceptron, etc.). Features from new images can be calculated and the model can predict the presence or lack of plaques.

[0133] If the method and system have the time series of images of the two types above (plaques and no plaques), the following can be done: a. Use change detection between sequential images (1, 2, or n images away from the image of interest) and then calculate what has changed between the images in the sequence. b. The size, shape, and direction of change can be tracked over the entire image series. Those can be added to the individual image features calculated in the first image. c. The path of the change can be tracked for speed and shape of the path. d. Noise can be removed from the path trajectory and other features using Kalman filters and other Bayesian and statistical techniques. e. The values can be differentiated or integrated to obtain further useful table entries. f. These additional features can be added to the feature tables above to create more accurate models to detect the presence or lack of plaques.

[0134] One of skill in the art will recognize that any or all of the above-mentioned techniques can be used in combination to generate image features that are useful in machine learning or other statistical techniques to determine the presence or absence of plaques and the magnitude and location thereof.

[0135] As noted, normal image capture for bright field microscopic work attempts to seek the plane of best focus for the subjects. In some embodiments, images focused on planes that differ from the plane of best focus are used to define the phase behavior of the subject. Two images are of particular interest, one above and one below the nominal best focal plane, separated by ‘Z’ distances as shown in Figure 15. In Fig. 15, two live cells with an organized shape concentrate the illumination, forming bright spots in the above focus regions of the field. This concentration of illumination also creates a virtual darkened region in the field below the in-focus plane. For the lysed cells, the shape of the material no longer exhibits a strong organized optical response. [0136] This behavior is the phenomena behind the Transport of Intensity Equation methodology for recovering the phase of the bright field illuminated subjects. In some embodiments, we directly process these out of focus images to detect the presence of live cells without detecting the lysed cell materials. This is the basis of the method of some embodiments described herein. To detect the presence of organized cell material, a localized adaptive threshold process is applied to the image of the region called “above focus”. This produces a map of spots where the intensity has concentrated. Figure 16A shows the above focus image and the threshold result is shown in Fig. 16B. This threshold result contains very little information about the cell shape. To get shape information, we use an image taken of the region called “below focus” where virtual dark regions exist which are similar to cell shadows. We use the bright spots as seeds in a segmentation process called a watershed. The topography of the watershed is provided by the image taken “below focus”. This gives us a set of segmented regions, one for each cell and the cells have approximately the shape and size of the cells. Contours can be defined around each of these shapes and parameters of shape and size can be used to filter these contours to a subset that are more likely to be part of the cell population.

[0137] It is important to notice that this process ignores the regions where the cells have been lysed. These regions do not create lots of bright local intensity and thus they create few seeds for this process. [0138] We render the contours that remain onto an image and detect the regions that are empty. A distance map is created in which each pixel value is the distance of that pixel from the nearest pixel of the cell map. This distance map is thresholded to create an image of the places which are far from the cells. An additional image is created with a small distance threshold to get an image that mimics the edges of the cells. The first image is used as a set of seeds for an additional application of the watershed algorithm. The second image is used as the topography. The result is that the ‘seeds’ grow to match the boundary of the topography thus regaining the shape of the “empty region”. Only the larger empty regions that provided a seed (i.e., far from the cells) survive this process. The result using a 10X image set appears as in Figure 17. In Figure 17, the contours have been laid onto a new image type which is generated using the Transport of Intensity Equation Solution to recover the phase field from the bright field image stack. The recovered phase image is further processed to create the image in Fig. 17. This image is what we are now calling a Phase Gradient image (PG). This method is able to extract the effects of the cell phase modification from the stack of bright field images at multiple focus Z distances. The image has much of the usefulness of a Phase Contrast Image but can be synthesized from multiple Bright Field exposures.

In some embodiments, the TIE-based preprocessing combined with the fact we can get time series stacks from the imager will allow us to perform statistical change detection based on the distance found, between cell areas, object tracking of those areas (with Kalman or other noise reduction filtering), and then machine learning based on both the individual image and the time series feature derivatives is what we think is unique about this. [0139] In some embodiments, machine learning is used to annotate images and use software to identify areas of interest (plaques and/or cells) and 2) calculate scalar features (contour features like area, shape, texture, etc.) of the space between the cells, the cells themselves, debris, etc.

[0140] In some embodiments we use detection of increases in spacing between cells to avoid detecting empty cells when they are sparse in the early parts for the sequence.

[0141] In some embodiments we use machine learning based on individual image features and derivatives of change features in the time series to improve the precision and allow for earlier detection

[0142] One or more imaging systems may be interconnected by one or more networks in any suitable form, including as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) such as an enterprise network or the Internet. Such networks may be based on any suitable technology and may operate according to any suitable protocol and may include wireless networks, wired networks, or fiber optic networks.

[0143] In another embodiment, the cell culture images for a particular culture are associated with other files related to the cell culture. For example, many cell incubators and have bar codes adhered thereto to provide a unique identification alphanumeric for the incubator. Similarly, media containers such as reagent bottles include bar codes to identify the substance and preferably the lot number. The files of image data, preferably stored as raw image data, but which can also be in a compressed jpeg format, can be stored in a database in memory along with the media identification, the unique incubator identification, a user identification, pictures of the media or other supplies used in the culturing, notes taken during culturing in the form of text, jpeg or pdf file formats.

[0144] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, further image processing is performed on each of the images in the z-stack for a particular location of a well to produce a smooth transition.

[0145] In order to give the appearance of a smooth transition, an OpenGL Texture function is applied to corresponding pixels in the stack. When the user moves from one image in the z-stack to another, there is a resulting appearance of a smooth transition. In addition, there is a graphical user interface program (GUI) interacting with a widget in the GUI which interacts with the OpenGL library. The result of this software is shown in the screen shot examples in Figures 13A-13D.

[0146] This widget provides the user with display controls 131 for focusing, 132 for zooming in and out and 133 for panning.

[0147] In an alternative embodiment, the user can control the display using mechanical controls such as shown in Figure 14. As shown therein, a box 140 can be stand-alone and connected to the imaging processor, integrated into the imaging unit or part of a computer connected to the imaging unit. The box 140 has rotatable knob 141 which can vary the focus, i.e., focus in and out smoothly. The box also includes rotatable knob 142 for zooming in and out and joystick 143 for panning. The rotation of the focus knob effects the movement from one image to the next in the z-stack and due to the application of the Texture function, the transition from one z-stack image to the next gives a smooth appearance to the image as it moves into and out of focus. [0148] In one embodiment, an app runs on a smartphone such as an IOS phone such as the iPhone 11 or an Android based phone such as the Samsung Galaxy S10 and is able to communicate with the imager by way of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or other wireless protocols. The smartphone links to the imager and the bar code reader on the smartphone can read the bar code labels on the incubator, the media containers, the user id badge and other bar codes. The data from the bar codes is then stored in the database with the cell culture image files. In addition, the camera on the smartphone can be used to take pictures of the cell culture equipment and media and any events relative to the culturing to store with the cell culture image files. Notes can be taken on the smartphone and transferred to the imager either in text form or by way of scanning written notes into jpeg or pdf file formats.

[0149] The various methods or processes outlined herein may be coded as software that is executable on one or more processors that employ any one of a variety of operating systems or platforms. Such software may be written using any of a number of suitable programming languages and/or programming or scripting tools and may be compiled as executable machine language code or intermediate code that is executed on a framework or virtual machine.

[0150] One or more algorithms for controlling methods or processes provided herein may be embodied as a readable storage medium (or multiple readable media) (e.g., a non-volatile computer memory, one or more floppy discs, compact discs (CD), optical discs, digital versatile disks (DVD), magnetic tapes, flash memories, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays or other semiconductor devices, or other tangible storage medium) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computing units or other processors, perform methods that implement the various methods or processes described herein.

[0151] In various embodiments, a computer readable storage medium may retain information for a sufficient time to provide computer-executable instructions in a non-transitory form. Such a computer readable storage medium or media can be transportable, such that the program or programs stored thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computing units or other processors to implement various aspects of the methods or processes described herein. As used herein, the term "computer-readable storage medium" encompasses only a computer-readable medium that can be considered to be a manufacture (e.g., article of manufacture) or a machine. Alternately or additionally, methods or processes described herein may be embodied as a computer readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, such as a propagating signal.

[0152] The terms "program" or "software" are used herein in a generic sense to refer to any type of code or set of executable instructions that can be employed to program a computing unit or other processor to implement various aspects of the methods or processes described herein. Additionally, it should be appreciated that according to one aspect of this embodiment, one or more programs that when executed perform a method or process described herein need not reside on a single computing unit or processor but may be distributed in a modular fashion amongst a number of different computing units or processors to implement various procedures or operations.

[0153] Executable instructions may be in many forms, such as program modules, executed by one or more computing units or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be organized as desired in various embodiments.

[0154] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the functions and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the teachings of the present invention is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. The present invention is directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the scope of the present invention. [0155] The indefinite articles "a" and "an," as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean "at least one." [0156] The phrase "and/or," as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean "either or both" of the elements so conjoined, e.g., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the "and/or" clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified unless clearly indicated to the contrary. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to "A and/or B," when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as "comprising" can refer, in one embodiment, to A without B (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B without A (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

[0157] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, "or" should be understood to have the same meaning as "and/or" as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, "or" or "and/or" shall be interpreted as being inclusive, e.g., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as "only one of or "exactly one of," or, when used in the claims, "consisting of," will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term "or" as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (e.g. "one or the other but not both") when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as "either," "one of," "only one of," or "exactly one of." "Consisting essentially of," when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law. [0158] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase "at least one," in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase "at least one" refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, "at least one of A and B" (or, equivalently, "at least one of A or B," or, equivalently "at least one of A and/or B") can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

[0159] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as "comprising," "including," "carrying," "having," "containing," "involving," "holding," and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, e.g., to mean including but not limited to.

[0160] Only the transitional phrases "consisting of and "consisting essentially of' shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.

[0161] Use of ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.

[0162] It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one step or act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method are recited.