JPH09281405A - Microscopic system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily form a high-definition microscopic image having the wide angle of view without using a special high-resolution image pickup element and an optical system by connecting plural stored images by a sticking means. SOLUTION: The center coordinates of respective small sections are calculated in order from the left upper corner of a specified sample range, and a microscope control unit 19 is informed of the center coordinates from a communication device 17. A sample stage 2 is driven from the unit 19 so as to align the center coordinates of the small section with an observation optical axis. The small section being the visual field range is photographed by a camera head 8 at this time, and the image data is transferred to a frame memory 11 and further stored in an image information memory 15. A microcomputer 14 changes processing for sticking the images according to whether the microscopic image is an erect image or an inverted image. Thus, the microscopic image having the wide angle of view or high resolution is formed by the sticking means whether it is the erect image or the inverted image.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microscope apparatus for inputting microscope image information and processing the image information to form an image with high resolution and wide angle of view.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When observing a sample with a microscope, the range that can be observed at one time is mainly determined by the magnification of the objective lens. However, when the objective lens has a high magnification, the observation range is limited to a very small part of the sample. Come on. On the other hand, in pathological diagnosis such as cytodiagnosis and histological diagnosis, there is a demand for grasping the entire image of the specimen in order to prevent oversight of the diagnosis site. Further, due to the development of information processing technology, electronic information conversion of images is promoted even in the above-mentioned pathological diagnosis, and there is a demand for realizing a high resolution of a microscope observation image captured through a camera as well as that of a conventional silver salt film. .

Up to now, various methods have been developed for inputting a high-resolution or wide-angle image. The first example is a method in which an optical system different from that of the microscope and a separate macro device are provided. The macro device is used to input an image with a wide angle of view and acquire the entire image of the specimen. The second example is a method of reconstructing the entire sample image by image synthesis. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-313071, a desired observation range is divided into a plurality of small sections, and the input image of each small section is aligned in correspondence with the input position to form a still image of the entire specimen. A transmission device is disclosed. The third example is a method of forming a high-resolution image with a high-resolution image sensor. Since the resolution of the image pickup device itself can be increased by increasing the number of pixels per unit area of the image pickup device, a high resolution image can be obtained. That is, the number of pixels is increased in the conventional element chip area by reducing the area of each pixel and increasing the density or integration. The fourth example is a method of forming a high resolution image by using a plurality of image pickup devices.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-248079 discloses an image pickup apparatus which forms a high resolution image by synthesizing image information obtained from a plurality of image pickup elements whose relative positional relationship is known. Further, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-141246, a plurality of image pickup devices are arranged so that some areas thereof overlap each other, and image data input from the image pickup devices are pasted together by using an overlap area. Accordingly, an image pickup device that forms a high-resolution image is disclosed.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. In the first example, since a macro device, which is an optical system different from the microscope, is used, the size of the entire device is increased, and the work of transferring the sample is required depending on the range to be observed. Become. Moreover, when images are respectively acquired by different optical systems of the microscope and the macro device, there is a problem that the color information of the sample is different.

In the second example, images in a plurality of small sections are simply aligned and displayed, and various conditions such as the pitch of the image pickup device, the stage resolution, the resolution of the objective lens, and the aberration of the optical system are used. There is a possibility that the images obtained from these factors may be discontinuous images, because the missing or overlapping of images due to the above are not taken into consideration.

In the third example, a high level of manufacturing technology is required, and the rate of defective pixels generated in the image pickup device chip increases, which not only significantly reduces the yield but also increases the cost. Moreover, since the number of pixels of the image to be input depends on the image sensor, it is impossible to input the number of pixels exceeding the performance of the image sensor.

In the fourth example, since the positioning accuracy of a plurality of image pickup devices used to increase the resolution directly affects the image quality, it is necessary to introduce a positioning device and take out the accuracy over a long time. There are problems such as increased cost and reduced workability.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and uses an ordinary optical microscope, but does not require a high-resolution image pickup element and an optical system, and An object of the present invention is to provide a microscope system capable of forming a fine and wide-angle microscope image.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following measures. The present invention corresponding to claim 1, a microscope, an image input device for picking up a microscope observation image obtained by the microscope, an image storage means for storing image information captured by the image input device, and the image. Display means capable of displaying image information taken in by an input device, variable magnification control means for changing the observation magnification of the microscope, specimen and objective lens in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis for adjusting the observation field of view. And a field-of-view adjusting means for relatively moving and a calculating means for giving a control command to the variable-magnification control means and the field-of-view adjusting means, wherein the calculating means is a sample image. The sample range that is required to be displayed is divided into a plurality of small sections, and means for determining the number of sheets to be bonded and an observation magnification that allows input of the small sections from the number of divisions, and the observation magnification of the microscope are small sections. Entering A means for giving a control command to the variable magnification control means so that the observation magnification is set to a possible observation magnification, and control data for adjusting the observation field of view so that imaging of the small sections can be performed for all the small sections. A means for creating and giving the control data to the visual field adjusting means as a control command, and taking out image information of each of the small sections from the image accumulating means, executing an image bonding process, and dividing into a plurality of small sections. And a pasting unit for forming the sample range input as a single image.

According to the present invention, a desired image forming range is divided into a plurality of small sections, the section is placed within the observation visual field by the visual field adjusting means, the image is inputted by the image input device, and the image accumulating means. The image is stored in. When the image forming range is divided into a plurality of small sections, it is desirable to set so that the edge image areas of the small sections adjacent to each other in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction overlap. A wide-angle microscopic image is formed by joining the accumulated images together by the joining means.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a microscope system comprising a microscope, an image input device for picking up a microscope observation image obtained by the microscope, and an image storage for storing image information captured by the image input device. Means, display means capable of displaying image information taken in by the image input device, magnification control means for changing the observation magnification of the microscope, and a direction orthogonal to the optical axis for adjusting the observation field of view. And a field-of-view adjusting means for relatively moving the sample and the objective lens, and a calculating means for giving a control command to the variable-magnification control means and the field-of-view adjusting means. The observation range of magnification is divided into small sections, the division is repeated until the observation magnification that can be input to the small section exceeds the maximum magnification that can be used in the microscope, and the small section immediately before the maximum magnification is exceeded. A means for determining the maximum number of pieces to be bonded, a means for selecting the number of pieces to be bonded between the minimum number of pieces to be bonded and the maximum number of pieces to be bonded, and obtaining an observation magnification corresponding to the selected number of pieces to be bonded; Means for giving a control command to the variable magnification control means so that the magnification is set to the observation magnification corresponding to the number of selectively bonded sheets, and for adjusting the observation field of view so as to enable photographing of small sections. A means for creating control data for all the small sections corresponding to the number of selected and pasted sheets and giving the control data to the visual field adjusting means as a control command, and image information of each small section from the image storage means. Image pasting processing is performed to divide the input observation area into a plurality of small sections and input the observation range into one image.

According to the present invention, the observation range currently being observed can be divided into small sections, and each small section can be input with an observation magnification larger than the current observation magnification, so that a high-resolution microscope image can be obtained. Can be formed.

According to a third aspect of the microscope system of the present invention, there is provided a focus adjustment means for driving the objective lens or the sample stage so as to change the distance between the sample and the objective lens in the optical axis direction, and the focus adjustment. Focusing control means for giving a command to the means to move to the focus position detected by the focus adjustment means.

According to the present invention, when the image is input by the image input device, the focus control means always inputs the image in focus, and the processing similar to the above-mentioned operation makes the whole image in focus. A wide-angle or high-resolution microscope image can be formed.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the microscope system according to the embodiment. This microscope system generates illumination light from a transillumination light source 1 such as a halogen lamp, collects the illumination light with a collector lens, and passes the illumination light through an illumination opening of a specimen stage 2 to provide a specimen S on the stage. To be able to illuminate. Specimen stage 2
A plurality of objective lenses 3a to 3f are held above the table by a revolver 4 and arranged so as to be exchangeable. The sample image incident on the objective lens inserted on the optical axis in the observation optical path by the revolver 4 is passed through the zoom lens 5 and the observation beam splitter 6
To the eyepiece lens 7 and the camera head 8 respectively. The above is the basic optical system of the microscope section.

The camera head 8 is, for example, a CMD (Cha
The solid-state image sensor including a charge modulation device) and an image forming optical system that forms an image of the light transmitted through the sample S on the CMD. The camera control unit 9 that controls the camera head 8 transfers the analog image data from the camera head 8 to the A / D converter 10. A / D
The converter 10 digitizes the image data captured by the camera head 8 and transfers it to the frame memory 11. The digital image data stored in the frame memory 11 is converted into analog data by the D / A converter 12 and displayed on the image monitor 13.

Further, a microcomputer 14 having a memory for storing programs and control information for various system operations, and an image memory capable of storing a plurality of digital image data stored in the frame memory 11. 15, an operation panel 16, an image processing unit 18 including a communication device 17 for sending a revolver rotation instruction, a zoom magnification instruction, an AF control instruction, and a stage movement instruction to the microscope.

The microscope side is provided with a microscope control unit 19 which receives the above-mentioned various instructions from the communication device 17 of the image processing unit 18 and controls the corresponding units. The microscope includes a transmission filter unit 20, a transmission field stop 21, and a transmission aperture stop 2 which are controlled by a microscope control unit 19 in addition to the above-described components as shown in the arrangement position in FIG.
2, condenser optical element unit 23, condenser top lens unit 24, AF beam splitter 25,
A light receiving element 26 for focus detection is provided.

The illumination light generated by the transmission illumination light source 1 is condensed by a contactor lens and enters the transmission filter unit 20, and the illumination light adjusted by the transmission filter unit 20 is transmitted through the transmission field stop 21 and the transmission aperture stop 22. The observation sample S on the stage is illuminated from below the sample stage 2 via the condenser optical element unit 23 and the condenser top lens unit 24. The sample stage 2 is
The microscope control unit 19 performs two-dimensional movement in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis for changing the observation site of the sample S and movement control in the optical axis direction for focusing. Further, the revolver 4 is rotationally controlled by the microscope control unit 19 in order to insert an objective lens having a desired magnification on the optical axis in the observation optical path.

The light transmitted through the sample S and condensed by the objective lens is a beam splitter 25 for AF, a zoom lens 5 for arbitrarily adjusting the observation magnification, and a beam splitter 6 for observation.
Through the camera head 8. The AF beam splitter 25 is attachable / detachable to / from the optical path, and one of the light beams split by the AF beam splitter 25 is guided to a focus detection light receiving element 26 via an imaging lens, and a photometric calculation for AF control is performed. Used for. The observation beam splitter 6 is also attachable / detachable to / from the optical path, and guides the light transmitted through the observation sample S to the eyepiece 7 or the camera head 8.

FIG. 2 shows a concrete example of the configuration of the operation panel 16. The operation panel 16 is provided with various switches. A sample whole image input switch 31 for activating a first function for constructing a whole sample image described later, a function switch 32 to which other functions can be assigned, and an objective lens changeover switch 34a for setting an objective lens to be inserted in the observation optical path. ˜34f, a zoom magnification switch 35 for setting the zoom magnification of the zoom lens 5, and the like. Further, a cursor 37 of a pointing device (here, a mouse is used) is displayed on the display unit for displaying the pseudo slide figure 33 of the operation panel 16. Each switch of the operation panel 16 or mouse 30
Is input to the microcomputer 14.

Next, the operation of the microscope system configured as described above will be described. Microcomputer 1
By executing the program described below in Section 4, "First function for constructing the entire specimen image", "Second function for increasing the resolution of the image in the visual field", "When inputting an image in a small section" The third function for realizing the AF operation in "," and the "fourth function for changing the image joining process depending on whether the image is an upright image or an inverted image" are realized. Hereinafter, the first function will be described in order.

Here, in the process of constructing the entire image of the sample, it becomes necessary to calculate the observation magnification at the time of image input and the movement amount of the sample stage 2 at the time of inputting a plurality of images. Various conditions used for calculation are (1) ~
It is assumed that the setting is (5). (1) The revolver 4 has a magnification of 1.25x, 2x, 4x,
It is assumed that a total of 6 objective lenses of 10 ×, 20 ×, and 40 × are mounted. (2) Zoom magnification by the zoom lens 5 is 1.00 ×
The range up to 2.50 × is controlled in 0.01 × steps. (3) Solid-state imaging device (CM
D) is the number of effective pixels in the horizontal (X-axis) direction (hereinafter referred to as IMNx
Is 1920 pixels, the number of effective pixels in the vertical (Y-axis) direction (hereinafter abbreviated as IMNy) is 1035 pixels, and the horizontal (X-axis).
Direction light receiving area length (hereinafter abbreviated as IMLx) is 14.
02 mm, length of light receiving area in vertical (Y-axis) direction (hereinafter IM
(Abbreviated as Ly) is 7.56 mm.

(4) Stage resolution is in the X-axis direction (hereinafter R
SLx) and the Y-axis direction (hereinafter RSLy) are ± 2 μm, and the origin coordinates (0,0) are the upper left corner of the slide.

(5) The number of pixels in the overlap area necessary for surely combining the images is determined in the X-axis direction (hereinafter,
Hereinafter, the number of pixels is set to 80 in both OVNx) and the Y-axis direction (hereinafter, OVNy).

The condition values are stored in a nonvolatile memory which is a peripheral circuit of the microcomputer 14 (not shown). Therefore, the value is retained even after the power is cut off, and can be arbitrarily changed by the input from the operation panel 16.

Under the above conditions, the processing for constructing the entire specimen image is executed. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for constructing the entire image of the sample. When constructing the whole image of the sample, the operator activates the "first function" by pressing the input switch 31 for the whole image of the sample on the operation panel 16 shown in FIG.

In the process of step S10, the operation panel 1
Recognizing that the signal input from 6 indicates that the input switch 31 of the entire sample image is pressed, a rectangular area equivalent to the standard preparation (width 75 mm × height 26 mm) aspect ratio (aspect ratio) The pseudo preparation figure 33 consisting of is displayed on the display screen of the operation panel 16. In this example, the pseudo preparation figure 33 has a size of 750 pixels horizontally and 260 pixels vertically.

The operator designates the sample range to be constructed on one image within the range of the pseudo slide displayed on the operation panel 16. Therefore, the cursor 3 is moved to each of the upper left (point A) and lower right (point B) points of the sample range to be image-formed.
7 is moved and each mouse is clicked by operating the mouse 30. In this example, X coordinate (Xa) = 200 as point A,
It is assumed that the Y coordinate (Ya) = 50 is designated, the X coordinate (Xb) = 500 and the Y coordinate (Yb) = 150 are designated as the point B.

In the processing of step S11, the designated sample range on the pseudo preparation figure 33 is recognized from the coordinates of the points A and B designated by the cursor 37 by operating the mouse 30. Further, the intermediate coordinates of the points A and B are notified to the microscope control unit 19 via the communication device 17 so that the designated sample range can be confirmed on the image monitor. The microscope control unit 19 determines the amount of movement of the sample stage 2 and drives it in the X and Y directions so that the intermediate coordinates of the designated sample range move to the optical axis position.

Since the coordinates of the designated sample range described above are stored in the non-volatile memory, this process can be omitted when the samples are placed at substantially the same position. Next, in the process of step S12, the number of image stickings in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is calculated. Now, it is required to display the entire designated sample range shown in FIG. 4A, but since the range that can be input by the microscope at one time is limited, as shown in FIG. 4B. Divide into multiple small sections (the range that the microscope can input in one shot), capture each small section with the microscope, and paste the image data of each small section into one whole sample image (specified sample range). ) Will be formed.

When forming the entire image of the specified sample range,
It is desirable to make the observation magnification as low as possible and input an image with a wide depth of field and a deep depth of focus. Therefore, the revolver 4
The number of bonded substrates is calculated by using the magnification of the objective lens with the lowest magnification among the objective lenses mounted on. The calculation formula is shown in Formula 1 below.

[0033]

[Equation 1] The sample visual field length at the minimum observation magnification is obtained by the following equation indicating the sample visual field length and the observation magnification (MAG).

[0034]

[Equation 2]

Therefore, in this example, JNMx = 3, J
NMy = 2. In the process of step S13, the number of pasted sheets JNMx obtained in the process of step S12,
An observation magnification for inputting a sample image of a small section calculated by JNMy is calculated.

When the images of the small sections adjacent to each other in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction are pasted together, it is necessary to secure an overlap area between the adjacent small sections. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in (c), each small section is enlarged to the range shown by the dotted line, and the observation magnification for taking in the enlarged small section is obtained. When pasting images of small sections,
The subdivision length for ensuring the overlap area between adjacent subdivisions is obtained by the following formula 3.

[0037]

(Equation 3)

By substituting BLKx obtained by equation 3 into SPLx and substituting BLKy into SPLy, equation 2
The required observation magnification can be obtained. Since the aspect ratio of the target area does not necessarily match the aspect ratio of the light receiving area of the image sensor, it is necessary to select either the X axis or the Y axis as the coordinate system for calculating the observation magnification. In this example, since the target area is designated to be horizontally long, the X axis is selected as the coordinate system. In addition, when the calculation is performed using the Y axis, it is an expression in which the suffixes x and y are replaced.

In this example, BLKx is about 10.914 m.
m and BLKy are about 5.885 mm, the observation magnification is about 1.284 times, and the objective lens of 1.25 times and the zoom magnification of 1.02 times are determined.

Next, in the processing of step S14, image acquisition is executed for each of the small sections. FIG. 4 (c)
In order to photograph each of the small sections divided as indicated by the dotted line, the sample stage 2 is moved so that the center coordinates of each of the small sections in order from the upper left corner of the designated sample range coincide with the observation optical axis position. Let The center coordinates of the small section are calculated by the following formula 4.

[0041]

(Equation 4)

This microscope system captures an image for each small section by repeating the calculation of the central coordinates (Px, Py) of each small section and the stage drive to each small section based on the flowchart of FIG. To execute. The center coordinates of each small section (P
(x, Py) is calculated, the calculated center coordinates of the small section are notified from the communication device 17 to the microscope control unit 19, and the microscope control unit 19 drives the sample stage 2 to observe light at the center coordinates of the small section. Match the axes. At this time, the small section in the visual field range is photographed by the camera head 8 and the image data is transferred to the frame memory 11. Then, the image data of each small section stored in the frame memory 11 is stored in the image information memory 15. The same operation is repeated until shooting of the small section in the lower right corner is completed.

In this example, the center coordinates of the sample stage 2 are (25 mm, 7.5 mm) and (35 mm, 7.5 m).
m), (45 mm, 7.5 mm), (25 mm, 12.
5mm), (35mm, 12.5mm), (45mm,
12.5 mm) in order, and each section image is loaded into the image information memory 15. As a result, the image information memory 15 stores the small section images partially overlapped with each other as indicated by the hatched area in FIG. 4C.

In the processing of step S15, the images of the small sections taken in the image information memory 15 are pasted together to form the entire image of the designated sample range. FIG. 6 shows a flow chart relating to image stitching.

Now, as shown in FIG. 7, a left side image (hereinafter referred to as L image) and a right side image (hereinafter referred to as R image) having laterally overlapping regions at the same observation magnification are stored in the image information memory 15. It is assumed to be stored.

In order to combine the images, a correlation calculation (matching) is required to detect the shift between the left and right images. FIG. 8 shows search areas LA1, LA2 and RA1, RA2 set in the overlap area, and a template block L used for deviation detection in the search area.
B1, LB2 and RB1, RB2 are shown.

In the process of step S21, a portion having a high contrast in the search area LA1 provided above the L image has a predetermined block size (for example, 16 × 1).
Search using 6 pixels). It should be noted that whether the contrast is high or low is determined by the following Expression 5.

[0048]

(Equation 5)

That is, in the search area LA1, if the average deviation within the block is R (%) or more with respect to the average value, it is determined that the contrast is high, and the template block LB1 for correlation calculation (matching) is determined. To do.

Next, in the processing of step S22, L
In the search area LA2 provided below the image,
A high contrast portion is searched for by the same calculation formula as the processing in step S21, and the template block LB2 is determined.

Then, in the processing of step S23, with the positional relationship (relative distance) between the template blocks LB1 and LB2 maintained, the search area RA1 in the overlap area provided in the R image similarly to the L image. , RA2
The block correlation calculation is performed at two locations in the inside, and the block positions with high correlation are detected as corresponding points. The presence / absence of the correlation is determined by the following formula 6.

[0052]

(Equation 6)

That is, the template block LB1 above the L image, the block RB1 above the R image, the template block LB2 below the L image, and the block R below the R image.
In each of B2, when the average value of the difference within the block is equal to or less than Q (%) of the number of block pixels, it is determined that there is a correlation and is determined as a corresponding point. Then, in the process of step S24, the parallel movement amount is calculated by the following equation based on the positional relationship between the corresponding blocks of the L image and the R image.

[0054]

(Equation 7)

Since the specimen stage 2 of the microscope is provided with the movement guides in both the X-axis and the Y-axis directions, the straightness is ensured and it is not necessary to consider the deviation in the rotation direction.

Finally, in the process of step S25, the L image and the R image are combined on the basis of the parallel movement amount obtained in the process of step S24. At this time, an appropriate interpolation calculation is performed on the overlap area to eliminate the discontinuity of the image due to the difference in pixel value between the L image and the R image. Various interpolation calculation methods include a histogram matching method, a linear density conversion method, and an average density difference correction method. Details are described, for example, on pages 463 to 465 of the image analysis handbook (The University of Tokyo Press).

Then, the L image and the R image are shifted due to the displacement in the Y-axis direction.
The region where the images are discontinuous is deleted, and the image combining process for the L image and the R image is completed. In the above description, the image combining process is performed on the L image and the R image shown in FIG. 7, but since they are actually divided as shown in FIG. 4C, they are adjacent in the X axis direction and the Y axis direction. The similar image combining process is executed between the respective small sections. The image data of the entire image of the designated sample range that is pasted together is stored in the image information memory 15.

When confirming the result of the stitching, the stitched images are thinned out at an appropriate interval so that the image monitor 13 can be processed through the frame memory 11.
It is done by displaying on. Further, it goes without saying that the number of blocks and the number of block pixels for detecting the corresponding points of the adjacent images can be made variable in order to speed up or improve the accuracy.

Next, the second function for forming the same region with higher resolution in the current observation image will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing contents for realizing the second function. The outline of the processing is to form a high-resolution image by inputting a plurality of images using an observation magnification that is higher than the current observation magnification and joining them together by a combining process.

First, in the process of step S31, JNMx = 2 is set as the minimum number of sheets to be bonded in the X-axis direction, and JNMy = 2 is set as the minimum number of sheets to be bonded in the Y-axis direction. The input of the minimum number of sheets to be pasted may be stored in the memory as fixed information in advance, and may be input by the operator only when it is desired to set JNMx (JNMy) to 3 or more.

Next, in the processing of step S32, JNM
By substituting x (JNMy) = 2 into the equation 3, the small partition length (BLKx, BLKy) of the small partition area in which the overlap area is surely secured is calculated. Further, in the processing of step S33, BLKx and BLKy are substituted into the equation 2 to obtain JNMx (JNMy) = JNMx (JNMy) = based on the relationship between the sample visual field length in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction and the observation magnification.
When it is set to 2, that is, when the number of laminated sheets is 2, the observation magnification MAG is calculated.

Observation magnification MA calculated in step S34
Until G exceeds the maximum magnification (MAX) that can be set in the microscope, the value of JNMx (JNMy) is sequentially incremented and the processes of steps S32 to S34 are repeated (S35, S36).

In the process of step S37, the observation magnification MAG corresponding to the set number of bonded sheets is the maximum magnification (MA
X), the observation magnification MAG is the maximum magnification (MA
X), just before the number exceeds (JNMx, JNM
y) is set as the maximum number of bonded sheets, and the range from the minimum number of bonded sheets to the maximum number of bonded sheets is displayed as a selectable number of bonded sheets on the operation panel 16.

Since the observation field of view of the microscope at a certain observation magnification corresponds to the above-mentioned designated sample range, the observation magnification at the time of inputting each small section is increased as the number of divisions of the observation field concerned is increased. The image becomes high and the image formed by bonding becomes high resolution.

More specifically, the current observation magnification is 1
5 times (objective lens magnification = 10 times × zoom magnification 1.50)
Times). Further, according to the above-mentioned formula 5, the sample visual field currently being observed is 0.934 mm in the X-axis direction and 0.504 mm in the Y-axis direction. The maximum observation magnification in this example is 100 times (objective lens magnification = 20 times × zoom magnification 2.5.
(0 times), the smallest partition considering the overlap area for bonding in the specimen field currently being observed is 7 × 7, which is the maximum number of bonded sheets according to Equations 5 and 6 above. The observation magnification becomes about 96 times. Therefore, in this example, it is possible to combine 2 × 2 to 7 × 7 images.

The observer selects the desired number of divisions on the operation panel 16 from the selectable number of pieces to be bonded. For example, by moving the cursor 37 to the display position of the desired number of pieces to be bonded and clicking with the mouse 30, the number of selected pieces to be bonded is input. The microcomputer 14 displays a list of the number of pasted sheets that can be selected on the operation panel 16 and accepts the input of the number of selected pasted sheets (step S3).
8).

In the process of step S39, the above-described calculated observation magnification MAG is determined from the number of pasted sheets input from the observation. In the process of step S40, the image data of the image information memory 15 is pasted together to form a high-resolution image in the same manner as in step S14 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

Next, the third function for the AF operation at the time of image input of each small section for forming a combined image will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing contents for realizing the third function.

It is assumed that the observation range of the sample and the number of bonded sheets are determined by the above-mentioned first function or second function (step S51), the observation magnification is calculated, and the magnification control of the microscope is performed ( Step S52). Then, the sample stage 2 is moved so that the center coordinates of the small section to be input and the observation optical axis match (step S5).
3).

The part related to the AF operation is step S5.
4 to S58 processing. In the process of step S54, since the focus is adjusted before the image input of the coordinates is performed, the AF control instruction is given from the communication device 17 to the microscope control unit 19.
And the focusing control is performed by the microscope control unit 19.

First, the AF beam splitter 25 is introduced into the optical path, and the sample image is guided to the focus detecting light receiving element 26. Then, focusing evaluation calculation is performed based on the video signal obtained from the focus detection light receiving element 26, and the focusing operation is performed by moving the sample stage 2 in the optical axis direction to detect the focusing state.

As a result of the focusing control, if the focusing operation is successful, "AF control is successful". If the focusing operation is unsuccessful, "A" is selected.
The focus control operation is completed by notifying the microcomputer 14 of “F control failure” via the communication device 17 and removing the AF beam splitter 25 from the optical path.

Next, in step S55, the AF control result is determined, and if "AF control is successful", the process proceeds to the image input process in step S59. In the case of “AF control failure”, the process proceeds to step S56 and A
F Branch to the failure warning process. In step S56,
The warning screen shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the operation panel 16, and a focusing handle operation (not shown) is used to manually focus (S57 process), and then the OK button 50 is pressed (S5).
8 processing), the same as in the case where the AF control is successful, S5
9 is branched to the image input processing.

Accordingly, a combined image that is in focus can be formed, and appropriate focus correction can be performed even when focusing cannot be performed because a sample does not exist near the center of the observation visual field.

Next, the fourth function of changing the image combining process depending on whether the microscope image is an upright image or an inverted image will be described. FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the erect image (sample image) and the inverted image. The inverted image is 18
The image is rotated 0 degrees.

Now, using the first function described above, FIG.
It is assumed that the images of the small sections in (a) are input in the order of the dotted arrows in the figure. In the case of an erect image, when the images of adjacent small sections are pasted according to the image input order, the pasting result is the same as in FIG. 13A, and there is no problem.

However, when the image is pasted on the inverted image in the same procedure as the erect image, the result of the pasting is as shown in FIG. 13B, and an image different from the sample image is formed. Moreover, the combined images do not have continuous end regions of each small section, and it is not possible to combine the images using the overlapping regions.

The fourth function is to divide the relationship between each small section Area (i) and the input image Img (i) into cases depending on whether the image is an upright image or an inverted image, and execute the above-mentioned bonding process. It is intended to form a target bonded image. That is, in order to obtain the result of combining inverted images as shown in FIG. 13C, the combining position of each small section image is determined using the following relational expression 8.

[0079]

(Equation 8)

The setting as to whether the sample image incident on the camera head 8 is an inverted image or an upright image is made by an instruction input from the observer to the operation panel 16, and the setting contents are stored in a non-volatile memory. Shall be remembered. Therefore, the setting contents are retained even after the power is cut off.

In the above description, the observation magnification is determined to be low in order to surely secure the overlap area of the images, but it can be realized by reducing the moving distance of the stage.

For example, the sample visual field length in the X-axis direction at an observation magnification of 10 times is 1.402 mm, but if the stage moving distance is set to 1.340 mm in the X-axis direction, the overlap region shown in this example is obtained. It is possible to secure.

It is also possible to provide a rotary filter mechanism for RGB in the camera head section and input a color image with a single-chip image pickup device. Further, it goes without saying that the image formed by pasting can be stored in a removable medium such as a floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk, or an optical card.

In addition, as a matter of course, it is possible to apply another publicly known algorithm that is characterized by utilizing the overlap region to perform the joining in the joining processing algorithm.

Further, in the microscope system of the present invention, the objective lens may be driven for selecting and focusing the visual field. The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention includes the following inventions.

In the microscope system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, changing the bonding position of the image information of each of the small sections according to whether the microscope image is an upright image or an inverted image. Is characterized by. According to the present invention, it is possible to form a microscope image having a wide angle of view or a high resolution by the bonding means regardless of whether the microscope image is an upright image or an inverted image.

[0087]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily obtain a high-definition and wide-angle microscope image by using an ordinary optical microscope without using a special image pickup device and an optical system. A microscope system that can be formed can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a microscope system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel included in the microscope system of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure for forming an entire sample image in the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a small section set as a sample range and an overlap area.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process from calculation of small section center coordinates to image input in the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of image pasting in the above embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an overlapping area of two images to be combined with each other.

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a processing region in image joining.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for forming a high-resolution image in the above embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of an AF operation at the time of inputting each small section image in the above embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a warning screen when the AF operation fails.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an erect image and an inverted image.

FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing a relationship between an erect image and an inverted image divided into small sections.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Transmitted illumination light source, 2 ... Specimen stage, 3a to 3f ...
Objective lens, S ... Specimen, 4 ... Revolver, 5 ... Zoom lens, 6 ... Beam splitter, 7 ... Eyepiece, 8 ... Camera head, 9 ... Camera control unit, 10 ... A / D converter, 11 ... Frame memory, 12 ... D / A converter, 13
... image monitor, 14 ... microcomputer, 15 ... image information memory, 16 ... operation panel, 17 ... communication device, 1
8 ... Image processing unit, 19 ... Microscope control unit, 20 ... Transmission filter unit, 21 ... Transmission field stop, 22 ... Transmission aperture stop, 23 ... Condenser optical element unit, 24
... condenser top lens unit, 25 ... beam splitter, 26 ... light receiving element for focus detection, 30 ... mouse,
31 ... Whole sample image input switch, 33 ... Pseudo slide figure

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A microscope, an image input device for picking up a microscope observation image obtained by the microscope, an image storage means for storing image information captured by the image input device, and an image input device for capturing the image information. Display means capable of displaying image information, variable magnification control means for changing the observation magnification of the microscope, and the sample and the objective lens relative to each other in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis for adjusting the observation field of view. A microscope system comprising: a visual field adjusting means for moving; and a computing means for giving a control command to the variable magnification control means and the visual field adjusting means, wherein the computing means is required to display as one sample image. Means for dividing the sample range into a plurality of small sections and determining the number of pieces to be bonded and an observation magnification that allows input of the small sections from the number of divisions; and an observation magnification that allows the observation magnification of the microscope to input the small sections. A means for giving a control command to the variable magnification control means so as to be set to a ratio, and control data for adjusting the observation field of view so as to enable imaging of small sections are created for all small sections. A means for giving the control data to the visual field adjusting means as a control command, and image information of each of the small sections is taken out from the image accumulating means, an image combining process is executed, and the divided information is input into a plurality of small sections. A microscope system, comprising: a bonding unit that forms the sample area into a single image. 2. A microscope, an image input device for picking up a microscope observation image obtained by the microscope, an image storage means for storing image information captured by the image input device, and an image input device for capturing the image information. Display means capable of displaying image information, variable magnification control means for changing the observation magnification of the microscope, and the sample and the objective lens relative to each other in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis for adjusting the observation field of view. A microscope system comprising a visual field adjusting means for moving and a computing means for giving a control command to the variable magnification control means and the visual field adjusting means, wherein the computing means divides an observation range of a certain observation magnification into small sections. A means for repeating the division until the observation magnification that can input the small sections exceeds the maximum magnification that can be used by the microscope, and determining the number of small sections immediately before exceeding the maximum magnification as the maximum number of bonded sheets, Means for selecting the number of bonded sheets from the minimum number of bonded sheets to the maximum number of bonded sheets to obtain an observation magnification corresponding to the selected number of bonded sheets; A means for giving a control command to the variable magnification control means so as to be set, and control data for adjusting the observation field of view so as to enable imaging of a small section are provided in accordance with the total number of the selected bonded sheets. A plurality of sub-partitions for creating sub-partitions and giving the control data to the field-of-view adjusting means as a control command; and extracting image information of each of the sub-partitions from the image accumulating means and executing an image combining process. And a bonding means for forming the observation range, which is divided and input into one, into a single image, and a microscope system. 3. The microscope system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: focus adjusting means for driving the objective lens or the sample stage so as to change the distance between the sample and the objective lens in the optical axis direction. A microscope system comprising: a focus control unit that gives an instruction to the focus adjustment unit to move to a focus position detected by the focus adjustment unit.