JP2006343573A - Microscopic system, observation method and observation program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a microscopic system or the like capable of constructing a wide-field and high-resolution microscopic image without requiring work by an expert such as a pathologist, reducing storage capacity for recording/storing after observation and/or diagnostic decision by the pathologist, and further forming and displaying the wide-field and the high-resolution microscopic image. <P>SOLUTION: The microscopic system is equipped with: a means for acquiring the image information of the whole or a part of a sample by relatively moving an objective and the sample in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis; a means for designating the specified area of the acquired image information; a means for storing the image information of the designated specified area; a means for reducing the information quantity of the image information which is not designated out of the acquired image information; a means for storing the reduced image information; and a means for storing the positional relation of the stored image information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a microscope system, an observation method using an microscope system, and an observation program for recording and observing a digital image with a wide field of view and high definition using a microscope.

  Conventionally, when a specimen is observed using a microscope, the range that can be observed at a time is mainly determined by the magnification of the objective lens. As the magnification is increased, a high-definition image can be obtained, but the observation range is narrowed. Therefore, taking multiple images while moving the field of view using an electric stage, etc., and pasting or combining them, create a wide-field and high-resolution microscopic image for use in pathological diagnosis (For example, see Patent Documents 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5).

Furthermore, the same thing is performed also about acquisition of a three-dimensional wide visual field and high-definition image which has a different focus position (for example, refer patent document 6, 7).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-281405 JP 2003-95063 A JP-T-2001-519944 JP-T-2002-514319 JP-T-2004-514920 JP 2004-151263 A JP-A-2005-37902

  However, in the conventional technique, for example, first, the entire specimen is scanned with an objective lens of 1.25 times or the like to acquire an image, a region of interest is selected based on the image, and the magnification of the objective lens is sequentially increased. In this method, the entire specimen and a wide-field and high-resolution microscopic image of a part of the specimen are acquired. With this method, the desired wide-field and high-resolution microscopic image is constructed. There was a problem that it took time and effort.

In addition, the above-described method has a problem in that the diagnosis work is hindered because an expert such as a pathologist who is originally engaged in the diagnosis work has to perform an image acquisition operation.
Further, the above-described method has a problem that an important part is overlooked due to selection of a target part from the low-magnification image.

  In addition, the conventional technique scans the entire specimen using a high-magnification objective lens that satisfies the highest resolution desired, and acquires images, so that even a non-pathological operator has a wide field of view and high resolution. A chain image can be constructed, but a high-resolution image or a portion that does not require a slice image having a different focal position is uniformly input and saved, so the storage capacity for saving is enormous. There was a problem of becoming.

  Further, in the conventional technique, since a three-dimensional image having a different focal position is converted into a two-dimensional image, there is a problem in that important information regarding the hierarchical relationship of stacked cells is lost in cytodiagnosis.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and requires a work by a specialist such as a pathologist for a microscope image having a wide field of view and high resolution (including slice images having different focal positions). Can be constructed without any reduction, the storage capacity for recording and storage can be reduced after the pathologist's observation and / or diagnosis is confirmed, and the formation and display of a wide-field and high-definition microscopic image It is an object to provide a microscope system, an observation method using the microscope system, and an observation program.

The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.
That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, the microscope system of the present invention moves the objective lens and the specimen relative to each other in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis, thereby obtaining image information of the whole or a part of the specimen. Image information acquisition means for acquiring, specific area specifying means for specifying a specific area of the image information acquired by the image information acquisition means, and a specific area image for storing image information of the specific area specified by the specific area specifying means Of the image information acquired by the storage means, the image information acquisition means, the image information reduction means for reducing the information amount of the image information not specified by the specific area specification means, and the image information reduction means Reduced image storage means for storing image information, image information stored by the specific area image storage means, and the reduced image storage means. Characterized in that it comprises an image position relationship storage means for storing the positional relationship between the stored image information.

  This makes it possible to construct a microscopic image with a wide field of view and high definition by operation by a general operator who is not a pathologist, and records only a part important for diagnosis with high definition, and the amount of information such as resolution for the entire specimen image is reduced. By dropping, it is possible to construct a high-definition microscope image with a wide field of view that retains necessary and sufficient image information and reduces the storage capacity.

  Further, the microscope system of the present invention provides an entire area for displaying the entire specimen image composed of the image information stored by the specific area image storage means and the image information stored by the reduced image storage means at an arbitrary magnification. Of the image information displayed by the image display means, the specific area image display means for displaying the image information stored by the specific area image storage means at an arbitrary magnification, and the specific area image display means, the specific area designation A specific area display means for displaying the image information designated by the means, and an area indicating the image information displayed by the specific area image display means in the whole specimen image displayed by the whole area image display means The specific area display in the image information displayed by the whole specimen navigation means and the specific area image display means It is desirable to provide a specific area navigation means for rectangular display area showing the image information displayed by the stage.

Thereby, it is possible to observe the form of a series of microscopic images from the whole specimen image to the magnified image while grasping the positional relationship of the current observation site.
Further, in the microscope system of the present invention, the image information acquisition means moves the objective lens and the specimen relative to each other in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis and in the optical axis direction, so that the whole or part of the specimen 3 It is desirable to obtain dimensional image information.

Accordingly, it is possible to correspond to a high-definition image having a three-dimensional wide field of view having different focal positions, and it is possible to observe a form while strongly expanding a necessary portion and changing the focal position.
Moreover, according to one aspect of the present invention, the observation method of the present invention is an observation method performed by a microscope system, and moves an objective lens and a specimen relative to each other in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis. The image information of the whole or a part of the specimen is acquired, the specific area of the acquired image information is specified, the image information of the specified specific area is stored in the specific area image database, and the acquired image information Among them, the amount of image information not specified is reduced, the reduced image information is stored in a reduced image database, the image information stored in the specific area image database and the image stored in the reduced image database The positional relationship with the information is stored, and is composed of the image information stored by the specific area image storing unit and the image information stored by the reduced image storing unit. Display the entire specimen image at an arbitrary magnification, display image information stored in the specific area image database at an arbitrary magnification, and display the designated image information among the displayed image information, An area indicating the image information of the displayed specific area is displayed in a rectangle in the entire displayed specimen image, and an area indicating the image information of the displayed specific area is displayed in the image information of the displayed specific area. It is characterized by a rectangular display.

  This makes it possible to construct a microscopic image with a wide field of view and high definition by operation by a general operator who is not a pathologist, and records only a part important for diagnosis with high definition, and the amount of information such as resolution for the entire specimen image is reduced. By dropping, it is possible to construct a high-definition microscope image with a wide field of view that retains necessary and sufficient image information and reduces the storage capacity. In addition, it is possible to observe the form of a series of microscopic images from the entire specimen image to the magnified image while grasping the positional relationship of the current observation site.

  Moreover, according to one aspect of the present invention, the observation program is an observation program for causing a microscope system to execute the above-described program by moving the objective lens and the specimen in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis. A procedure for acquiring image information of the whole or a part of a specimen, a procedure for specifying a specific area of the acquired image information, a procedure for storing image information of the specified specific area in a specific area image database, and Of the acquired image information, a procedure for reducing the amount of image information not specified, a procedure for saving the reduced image information in a reduced image database, and image information saved in the specific area image database The procedure for storing the positional relationship with the image information stored in the reduced image database, and the image information stored by the specific area image storing means A procedure for displaying the entire specimen image composed of the image information stored by the reduced image storage means at an arbitrary magnification, a procedure for displaying the image information stored in the specific area image database at an arbitrary magnification, Among the displayed image information, a procedure for displaying the designated image information, a procedure for displaying a rectangular area indicating the image information of the displayed specific area in the entire displayed specimen image, It is a computer-executable observation program for executing the procedure of displaying the area indicating the image information of the displayed specific area in a rectangular manner in the displayed image information of the specific area.

  This makes it possible to construct a microscopic image with a wide field of view and high definition by operation by a general operator who is not a pathologist, and records only a part important for diagnosis with high definition, and the amount of information such as resolution for the entire specimen image is reduced. By dropping, it is possible to construct a high-definition microscope image with a wide field of view that retains necessary and sufficient image information and reduces the storage capacity. In addition, it is possible to observe the form of a series of microscopic images from the entire specimen image to the magnified image while grasping the positional relationship of the current observation site.

  According to the present invention, anyone can easily obtain a high-definition microscopic image with a multi-focus, wide field of view, and memory for recording by appropriately changing the amount of information at a target site and a non-target site. Capacity can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, the target region of knowledge obtained from the specimen can be clarified by clearly indicating the site of interest.
In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily obtain morphological knowledge from a specimen by simultaneously observing a macro image that is extremely low magnification such as the whole specimen, a weakly magnified image and a strongly magnified image of a target region. .

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a microscope system according to the first embodiment.

The microscope system 100 includes a microscope unit 110, an image input unit 120, and a control computer unit 130 equivalent to a commercially available personal computer.
First, the microscope unit 110 will be described.

  For example, illumination light is generated from a transmission illumination light source 1 composed of a halogen lamp, collected by a collector lens 2, and transmitted through various filters 3 (ND (Neutral Density) filter, LBD filter (blue filter), etc.) The illumination field is stopped by the stop 4 and the angle is deflected in the direction of the stage 8 by the mirror 5.

  Illumination light deflected at an angle in the direction of the stage 8 by the mirror 5 passes through the aperture stop 6 and the condenser lens unit 7 and then passes through an illumination opening (not shown) on the stage 8 to thereby slide the glass on the stage 8. Nine specimens S can be illuminated. A plurality of objective lenses 10 are configured to be selectively inserted into the optical path by being held by the revolver 11 above the stage 8.

The sample image of the slide glass 9 incident on the objective lens 10 is guided to the TV camera 13 through the imaging lens 12.
The sample image picked up by the TV camera 13 is digitized by the image capture circuit 14 and taken into the control computer unit 130.

  In addition, in order to electrically control each part in the microscope unit 110, a motor, a motor driver, a sensor, and the like (not shown) are incorporated, and the CPU 21 passes through the microscope unit control I / F circuit 17 and the microscope controller 18. Drive controlled.

  For example, insertion / removal control of various filters 3 such as an ND filter for adjusting the amount of illumination light to / from the optical path, opening / closing control of the field stop 4 and the aperture stop 6, the XY plane orthogonal to the optical axis, and the optical axis parallel to the optical axis. Three-axis (XYZ) movement control for moving in the Z direction and rotation control of the revolver 11 for selectively inserting the objective lens 10 into the optical path are possible. Of course, in the movement control in the Z direction, instead of driving the stage 8, the revolver 11 holding the objective lens 10 may be driven and controlled.

Next, the image input unit 120 will be described.
The TV camera 13 is controlled via the control I / F circuit 16 based on a control instruction from the CPU 21.

  The microscope specimen image captured by the TV camera 13 is digitized by the image capture circuit 14, stored in the memory 23 via the image capture I / F circuit 15, and sent to the display device 25 based on the control of the CPU 21. The image is displayed and stored as an image file in the recording medium 22.

Next, the control computer unit 130 will be described.
In the microscope system 100, the CPU 21 is the center, and the microscope unit 110 and the image input unit 120 are controlled. The CPU 21 is connected to the CPU bus 20. Further, the CPU bus 20 is connected to the control I / F circuit 16 and the microscope unit I / F circuit 17 of the TV camera 13, and each unit can be controlled from the CPU 21. ing.

  Also connected to the CPU bus 20 are a recording medium 22 such as a hard disk, a memory 23, a display frame memory 24, an image capture I / F circuit 15, a keyboard and a mouse control I / F circuit 26.

The technique of the microscope system 100 is realized by various programs such as microscope control, image input, image processing, and image display stored in the recording medium 22.
Next, the operation of the microscope system 100 configured as described above will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the image input process.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specimen placed on a slide glass, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a part to be sampled in order to obtain an in-focus position of the entire specimen, and FIG. It is the figure which showed the coordinate map for acquiring a microscope image.

  In this image input processing, acquisition of a wide-field and high-definition image is executed. Details of an example of the acquisition method are described in Patent Document 1 filed by the applicant of the present application. Details are omitted, and a brief description is given here.

  First, in step S101 of FIG. 2, a low-magnification objective lens 10 such as 1.25 × (1.25 ×) is inserted into the optical path, and a predetermined area of the slide glass (eg, vertical: 25 mm × horizontal: 50 mm) is created. The stage 8 is moved XY in accordance with the shooting area width of the TV camera 13, microscope images are acquired via the TV camera 13, the images are combined, and the entire image of the slide glass is stored in the recording medium 23. To do.

  Next, in step S102, based on the entire image of the slide glass acquired in step S101, an area where the specimen S is actually placed on the slide glass 9 shown in FIG. 3 is automatically extracted (determination of the specimen area). In addition, in order to determine individual focus positions with respect to the entire sample S from the region where the sample S exists, the focus position extraction points to be sampled shown in FIG. 4 are automatically extracted.

  Next, in step S103, a predetermined high magnification objective lens 10 such as 40 × (40 ×) is inserted into the optical path, and the stage 8 is moved XY with respect to each point extracted in step S102 to move the optical axis. After moving to the position, the sample image is input and evaluated through the TV camera 13 while performing Z movement control, and the actual in-focus position (coordinates) is obtained.

  In step S104, the focus position (coordinates) of the non-extraction point is obtained by interpolation from the nearby actually measured focus position (coordinates), and the focus constituted by the X, Y, and Z coordinates shown in FIG. A map is created and stored in the recording medium 22.

  In step S105, based on the information on the focus map, the stage 8 is moved to the XYZ coordinates registered in the focus map, an image is input via the TV camera 13, and is combined with an image at an adjacent position. However, it is stored in the recording medium 22 as an image file.

  By repeating this image input process until all XY coordinates defined in the focus map are completed, acquisition of a wide-field and high-definition microscopic chain image is completed and stored in the recording medium 22 as an image file.

  Note that the processing from step S101 to S105 is automated, and the operator simply places the slide specimen S on the stage 8 and performs a scanning start operation on an operation screen (not shown), and has a wide field of view and a high-definition microscope image. You can complete the acquisition.

Further, it is natural that the image file stored in the recording medium 22 can be compressed and saved by a known compression algorithm such as JPEG or JPEG2000.
In addition, the operation is paused at each step, allowing the operator to intervene, changing the sample area, changing / adding / deleting the focus position extraction point to be sampled, and changing the magnification of the high-magnification objective lens 10 to be used. It is natural that this adjustment work is possible.

Further, the optimization of the illumination system of the microscope accompanying the conversion of the objective lens 10 is natural.
Further, instead of using the low-magnification objective lens 10, it is possible to separately shoot the entire slide glass 9 at once with a macro imaging optical system, thereby shortening the shooting time of the entire image of the slide glass 9.

  Furthermore, when the stage 8 is moved in the XY direction, it is possible to provide an overlap area with an adjacent image and perform the image pasting process to eliminate the discontinuity of the image due to the stage accuracy. is there.

  Next, with a wide field of view and high-definition microscope image constructed by the above image input process, only the important parts for observation and diagnosis are recorded with high resolution by the operation of a specialist such as a pathologist. An embodiment in which the resolution of other parts is stored at a reduced resolution and the file capacity is reduced will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for constructing a wide-field and high-definition microscope image with a site of interest, and FIG. 7 is an operation screen for constructing a wide-field and high-definition microscope image with a site of interest. FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a first example of a file structure of a wide-field and high-definition microscope image with a site of interest. FIG. 9 is a wide-field and high-definition microscope image with a site of interest. It is the figure which showed the 2nd example of this file structure.

First, in step S201 of FIG. 6, a wide-field and high-definition microscope image stored in the recording medium 22 is opened by an operation not shown.
Then, in step S220, the operation screen of FIG. On the main screen 50, the entire image is initially displayed at an appropriate magnification so that the entire acquired sample image is displayed, and the pathologist can grasp the entire acquired sample image.

  Next, in step S230, the display magnification change button 52 is clicked with the mouse 28 to select a desired weak enlargement magnification. For example, when 1 × (1 ×) is selected, if the microscope magnification at the time of acquisition is 40 × (40 ×), a part of the microscope image whose resolution is reduced to 1/40 by thinning processing or the like is displayed on the main screen 50. Will be displayed.

  Note that the entire specimen image is always displayed in a reduced size on the entire specimen image navigation screen 51, and an observing rectangular cursor 55 indicating the observation area currently displayed on the main screen 50 is displayed in the screen. . Therefore, the pathologist can easily grasp which part of the specimen is currently being magnified.

  In step S240, the region to be observed is moved by the visual field movement button 53, the arrow key operation of the keyboard 27, or the drag operation of the mouse 28 on the main screen 50, and the abnormal attention such as malignant tumor is observed. Find the part.

  When the attention site is found (S250: Yes), the observation area currently displayed on the main screen 50 is recorded in the memory 23 as the attention area by clicking the mark button 54 with the mouse 28 in step S260. .

  It should be noted that the region of interest designation mode may be entered by clicking the mark button 54 with the mouse, and the region of interest may be determined by specifying a rectangle within the main screen 50 by dragging the mouse 28. To do.

Furthermore, when searching for an attention site | part (S290: Yes), operation of step S230 to step S260 is repeated according to the necessity of the change of magnification.
When the region of interest has been searched and marked (S270: Yes), the information amount (resolution) of the entire original image is maintained in the file configuration shown in FIG. 8 while maintaining the information amount of the region of interest in step S280. ), A wide-field and high-definition microscope with attention area information that reduces the file capacity for recording and holding while maintaining an appropriate amount of information according to the attention area and non-attention area. The sample image is stored in the recording medium 22.

  It should be noted that the amount of information (resolution) to be reduced with respect to the non-target region is determined by a predetermined magnification such as 4 × (4 ×) objective lens or a magnification selection operation (not shown) at the time of acquiring the current image. An arbitrary magnification smaller than the objective lens magnification can be selected.

  For example, when a 40 × (40 ×) objective lens 10 is used to acquire a wide-field and high-definition image of the microscope sample S, if the amount of information is reduced by 4 × (4 ×), the sample The entire area image information can be reduced to 1/100, and when the information amount is reduced by 10 × (10 times), it can be reduced to 1/16.

Note that the magnification corresponding to the magnification of the entire specimen area is recorded as information as shown in FIG.
The attention area image information includes attention area management information such as magnification information at the time of acquiring a high-definition image with a wide field of view of the microscope specimen, position information on the entire specimen area image, and a pointer to the next attention area image information, and the position Image data holding the amount of information of the original image in the range specified by the coordinates is stored.

  8 is not constructed as the dedicated file format shown in FIG. 8, but is composed of a text-based management information file as shown in FIG. 9, a whole specimen weakly expanded image file, and one or more attention area image files. The file may be saved as a general file structure that can be handled by commercially available software, Web browser software, or the like.

  Furthermore, the storage magnification of each region of interest is larger than the information reduction conversion magnification of the entire specimen region by a selection operation (not shown), and the range below the magnification at which a wide-field and high-definition image of the original specimen is acquired. And may be selected arbitrarily and individually.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to construct a wide-field and high-definition microscope image by the operation of a general operator, not a specialist such as a pathologist, and in addition, a specialist such as a pathologist By recording only the region of interest of the image with high precision by operation and reducing the amount of information (resolution) of the entire specimen, ensuring the necessary and sufficient amount of information and reducing the storage capacity for storage Can do.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an observation operation of a wide-field and high-definition microscope image with a site of interest, and FIG. 11 shows an observation screen of a wide-field and high-definition microscope image with a site of interest. FIG.

First, in step S310, a wide-field and high-definition microscopic chain image file with attention area information described in the first embodiment is opened.
In step S320, “overall mode” is set as the initial value of the display mode, and in step S321, initialization processing for displaying the operation screen shown in FIG. 11 is performed. For example, the entire sample navigation screen 51 may display the entire sample image as a thumbnail or a visual field movement button 53.

Subsequent steps will be described in units of steps, although the processing contents are slightly different depending on whether the display mode is “overall mode” or “attention site mode” (S330).
In step S340, on the main screen 50, the whole image of the specimen obtained from the image data of the whole specimen area is displayed as an initial value in the “whole mode”, and a user selection operation described later in the “attention site mode”. The whole image of the attention area selected by is displayed as an initial value.

  In step S341, the attention site navigation screen 60 is not displayed in the “overall mode”, and is displayed in the “attention region mode”, and the entire image of the selected attention area is displayed as a thumbnail.

  In step S342, the display magnification change button 52 displays a magnification that can be selected according to the display mode. The magnification of the “entire mode” is the maximum magnification of the magnification information of the entire specimen region image stored in the image file. In the “target region mode”, the magnification information stored in the management information of the target region Is displayed as the maximum magnification.

In step S343, the observation of the entire specimen is performed in the “entire mode”, and the observation region is observed in the “target region mode”.
That is, the region to be observed is moved by changing the magnification by selecting the display magnification changing button 52, by operating the visual field moving button 53 or the arrow key on the keyboard 27, or by dragging the mouse 28 on the main screen 50. The target area is displayed on the main screen 50 and observed. As the observation magnification is changed and the field of view is moved, a region display indicating which part is currently observed is displayed in a rectangle on each navigation screen.

  In the “whole mode”, which region of the whole specimen image displayed on the main screen 50 is being observed is displayed on the observation rectangular cursor 55 in the whole specimen navigation screen 51.

In the main screen 50, when one or a plurality of attention areas registered as attention areas are present in the current observation area, a rectangular display is displayed.
In the “attention part mode”, the currently selected rectangular area 55 is displayed in the observing rectangular cursor 55 in the whole specimen navigation screen 51, and the observing rectangular cursor 61 in the attention part navigation screen 60 is displayed in the main area. The region of interest shown on the screen 50 is displayed in a rectangle.

When changing the display mode, the following operation is performed. (S350)
The change from the “overall mode” to the “target region mode” is performed by double-clicking the target region display rectangular cursor (not shown) displayed on the main screen 50 with the mouse 28 to shift to the target region display mode. Further, the transition from the “attention part mode” to the “entire mode” is performed by pressing the Esc key of the board 27.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the basis of the knowledge of which region is selected as the target region can be clearly shown, and different magnification information such as the whole specimen image, weakly magnified image, and strongly magnified image can be associated with each other on the screen. Since it is possible to observe at the same time, morphological features can be easily grasped.

Next, a third embodiment will be described.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state of synthesizing a wide-field and high-definition microscopic image having different focal positions, and FIG. 13 is a diagram showing operation buttons for displaying different focal positions, FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a file configuration example of a multi-focus, wide-field and high-definition microscopic image with a site of interest.

In the third embodiment, a method for acquiring a three-dimensional wide-field and high-definition image having different focal positions will be described with reference to FIG. 2 used in the description of the first embodiment.
Steps S101 to S104 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In the process of step S105, the stage 8 is moved to the XYZ coordinates registered in the focus map on the basis of the focus map information in FIG. 5, and the Z coordinate defined in the focus map is centered (array number 0). The Z-axis coordinate is moved up and down by a predetermined distance (determined by the focal depth of the objective lens 10), and a plurality of microscope images with different focal positions are input via the TV camera 13, 12, the image is stored in the recording medium 22 as an image file while being combined with an image at an adjacent position on the XY plane having the same Z-axis array number.

  By repeating this image input process until all XY coordinates defined in the focus map are completed, acquisition of a wide-field and high-definition microscopic image having different focal positions is completed, and an image file is stored on the recording medium 22. Stored.

  The multi-focus, wide-field, and high-definition image acquired in the above step can be obtained by using the same processing method as that shown in FIG. 6 and the operation screen shown in FIG. It can be converted into a high-definition microscopic image with a focal point, wide field of view, and the storage capacity for storage can be reduced.

Hereinafter, only the processing specific to the third embodiment will be described.
In step S210 in FIG. 6, the image file having the Z center coordinate (array number 0) obtained as the in-focus position at the time of image acquisition is opened.

  In the process of searching for a region of interest from the microscope image in step S240, in addition to the above-described visual field movement, by operating the focus movement button shown in FIG. 13, frame up and down of the Z-axis image, “+ direction → −direction → + Direction ”or“ −direction → + direction → −direction ”is repeatedly reproduced, and sample images with different focal positions can be observed on the main screen 50.

In the image file reconstruction process in step S280, the following process is performed.
For the region of interest, all the original image information including images with different focal positions is held, and for the entire specimen S, the image in the optical axis direction is obtained by a known image addition and recovery filter processing from a plurality of images with different focal positions. A single image that is also focused on substances present at different positions is synthesized, and the resolution is reduced in the same manner as the processing described in the first embodiment. Stored.

  For example, when a 40 × (40 ×) objective lens 10 is used to obtain a wide-field and high-definition image having information with 11 different focal positions, the amount of information is equivalent to 4 × (4 ×). Can be reduced to 1/1100 as the amount of image information in the entire specimen area, and can be reduced to 1/176 when the amount of information is reduced by 10 × (10 times).

  Note that the multifocal, wide-field, high-definition microscopic image with attention site information stored in the recording medium 22 by the above processing can be similarly observed by the method described in the second embodiment. In addition, when the display mode is the “target region mode”, the focus movement button shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the operation screen, and images at different focal positions can be observed.

  As in the case of the first embodiment, the information amount of the attention area can be selectively reduced by integrating a plurality of images with the storage magnification of each attention area and different focal positions into one image. Thus, the storage capacity for saving can be further reduced.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, even in cytodiagnosis specimens and thick tissue specimens, the focus position is changed at the site of interest to change the cell stacking information, the details of the nucleus, etc. in the optical axis direction. Can be observed.

In addition, it is possible to avoid a focus failure problem caused by predicting and calculating the in-focus position of the sample from nearby information.
The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the microscope system to which the present invention is applied is limited to the above-described embodiments and the like as long as the function is executed. Needless to say, a single device, a system composed of a plurality of devices, an integrated device, or a system that performs processing via a network such as a LAN or WAN may be used. .

  It can also be realized by a system comprising a CPU, ROM or RAM memory connected to a bus, an input device, an output device, an external recording device, a medium drive device, a portable storage medium, and a network connection device. That is, a ROM or RAM memory, an external recording device, and a portable storage medium that record software program codes for realizing the systems of the above-described embodiments are supplied to the microscope system, and the computer of the microscope system executes the program. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the portable storage medium or the like realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the portable storage medium or the like on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention. .

  Examples of portable storage media for supplying the program code include flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-RAMs, magnetic tapes, and nonvolatile memories. Various storage media recorded through a network connection device (in other words, a communication line) such as a card, a ROM card, electronic mail or personal computer communication can be used.

  In addition, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by executing the program code read out on the memory by the computer, and the OS running on the computer is actually executed based on the instruction of the program code. The functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by performing part or all of the process.

  Furthermore, a program code read from a portable storage medium or a program (data) provided by a program provider is provided in a function expansion board inserted into a computer or a function expansion unit connected to a computer. The CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also performed by the processing. Can be realized.

  That is, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the like, and can take various configurations or shapes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the microscope system in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an image input process. It is a figure which shows the sample mounted on the slide glass. It is the figure which showed the site | part example sampled in order to obtain | require the focus position of the whole sample. It is the figure which showed the coordinate map for acquiring a microscope image. It is a flowchart for constructing a wide-field and high-definition microscopic image with a region of interest. It is the figure which showed the operation screen for constructing a wide-field and high-definition microscope image with an attention site. It is the figure which showed the 1st example of the file structure of a high-definition microscope image with a wide visual field with an attention site | part. It is the figure which showed the 2nd example of the file structure of a high-definition microscope image with a wide visual field with an attention site | part. It is the flowchart which showed observation operation of a wide-field and high-definition microscope image with an attention site | part. It is the figure which showed the observation screen of a high-definition microscope image with a wide visual field with an attention site | part. It is the figure which showed a mode that a high-definition microscope image with a wide visual field which has a different focus position was synthesize | combined. It is the figure which showed the operation button for displaying a different focus position. It is the figure which showed the example of a file structure of the multifocal and wide visual field and high-definition microscope image with an attention site | part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light source for transmitted illumination 2 Collector lens 3 Various filters 4 Field stop 5 Mirror 6 Aperture stop 7 Condenser lens unit 8 Stage 9 Slide glass 10 Objective lens 11 Revolver 12 Imaging lens 13 TV camera 14 Image capture circuit 15 Image capture I / F Circuit 16 Control I / F circuit 17 Microscope unit control I / F circuit 18 Microscope controller 20 CPU bus 21 CPU
Reference Signs List 22 Storage Medium 23 Memory 24 Frame Memory 25 Display Device 26 Keyboard and Mouse Control I / F Circuit 27 Keyboard 28 Mouse 50 Main Screen 51 Specimen Whole Image Navigation Screen 52 Display Magnification Change Button 53 Field Movement Button 54 Mark Button 55 Rectangular Cursor 100 Microscope System 110 Microscope unit 120 Image input unit 130 Control computer unit S Specimen

Claims (5)

Image information acquisition means for acquiring image information of the whole or a part of the sample by moving the objective lens and the sample in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis;
Specific area designating means for designating a specific area of the image information acquired by the image information acquiring means;
Specific area image storage means for storing image information of the specific area designated by the specific area designation means;
Image information reducing means for reducing the amount of image information that has not been designated by the specific area designating means among the image information obtained by the image information obtaining means;
Reduced image storage means for storing the image information reduced by the image information reduction means;
Image positional relationship storage means for storing the positional relationship between the image information stored by the specific area image storage unit and the image information stored by the reduced image storage unit;
A microscope system comprising: An entire area image display means for displaying an entire specimen image composed of the image information stored by the specific area image storage means and the image information stored by the reduced image storage means at an arbitrary magnification;
Specific area image display means for displaying the image information stored by the specific area image storage means at an arbitrary magnification;
Of the image information displayed by the specific area image display means, specific area display means for displaying the image information designated by the specific area designation means;
Whole specimen navigation means for displaying a rectangular area indicating the image information displayed by the specific area image display means in the whole specimen image displayed by the whole area image display means;
Specific area navigation means for displaying a rectangular area indicating the image information displayed by the specific area display means in the image information displayed by the specific area image display means;
The microscope system according to claim 1, further comprising:   The image information acquisition means acquires three-dimensional image information of the whole or a part of the sample by moving the objective lens and the sample in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis and in the optical axis direction. The microscope system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: An observation method performed by a microscope system,
Obtaining image information of the whole or a part of the specimen by moving the objective lens and the specimen relative to each other in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis;
Specify a specific area of the acquired image information,
Storing image information of the specified specific area in a specific area image database;
Of the acquired image information, the amount of image information not specified is reduced,
Storing the reduced image information in a reduced image database;
Storing the positional relationship between the image information stored in the specific area image database and the image information stored in the reduced image database;
Display the entire specimen image composed of the image information stored by the specific area image storage unit and the image information stored by the reduced image storage unit at an arbitrary magnification,
Display image information stored in the specific area image database at an arbitrary magnification,
Of the displayed image information, the designated image information is displayed,
An area indicating image information of the displayed specific area in the entire displayed specimen image is displayed in a rectangle,
An observation method, wherein an area indicating image information of the displayed specific area is displayed in a rectangle in the image information of the displayed specific area. An observation program for causing a microscope system to execute,
A procedure for acquiring image information of the whole or a part of the specimen by moving the objective lens and the specimen relative to each other in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis;
A procedure for specifying a specific area of the acquired image information;
A procedure for storing image information of the specified specific area in a specific area image database;
Among the acquired image information, a procedure for reducing the amount of information of image information not specified;
Storing the reduced image information in a reduced image database;
A procedure for storing a positional relationship between the image information stored in the specific area image database and the image information stored in the reduced image database;
A procedure for displaying an entire specimen image composed of the image information stored by the specific area image storage unit and the image information stored by the reduced image storage unit at an arbitrary magnification;
Displaying image information stored in the specific area image database at an arbitrary magnification;
Of the displayed image information, a procedure for displaying the designated image information;
A procedure for displaying a rectangular area indicating image information of the displayed specific area in the entire displayed specimen image;
A procedure for displaying a rectangular area indicating the image information of the displayed specific area in the image information of the displayed specific area;
A computer-executable observation program for executing the program.