Figure 1

A schematic drawing of the automated optics module and sample monitoring system. The automated optics module consists of a digital 768 × 576 pixel CCD Camera (Jai cv-A10CL) coupled to a phase-contrast microscope with a 10× phase-contrast objective (Nikon CFI Achromat) and 200 mm optics (Infinity Infinitube), producing a 675 × 506 μm field – of – view with a spatial resolution of 0.879 μm/pixel, built onto a motorized z-direction movement stage. The illumination source is a green (530 nm) LED light that enables high quality phase-contrast images. More information [15].