JP2006153692A - Spectrum detector, and microscope system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device capable of detecting spectra of high resolution at the same time by multichannel, and capable of reducing the number of signal lines for connecting spectrum detectors and an information processor to the number smaller than the number of A/D converters for the spectrum detectors. <P>SOLUTION: This spectrum detector 102 is provided with a light input part for introducing light, a spectral diffraction element 14 for dispersing the light from the light input part, a plurality of photoreception elements for detecting light dispersed by the spectral diffraction element 14 the spectrum by the spectrum to be converted into an analog electric signal, and a sampling circuit 16. The sampling circuit 16 has the plurality of A/D converters connected to every of the plurality photoreception elements, and for converting the analog electric signal from the connected photoreception element into a digital electric signal, and a signal processing part for receiving an input of the plurality of digital electric signals output from the plurality of respective A/D converters, and for selecting sequentially the plurality of received digital electric signals to be output to the information processor 103 via output terminals having the number more reduced than the number of the A/D converters. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a microscope technique, and more particularly, to a detector technique for detecting light reflected from a sample for each spectrum.

  Conventionally, as a technique of a laser scanning microscope, it is known to detect a spectrum with a photodetector having a plurality of light receiving elements by dispersing detection light (for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1 (see FIG. 5), a spectrum detector having a plurality of light receiving elements detects a spectrum in a predetermined region for each light receiving element.

  Further, a system including a laser scanning microscope and an information processing apparatus that performs image processing using data detected by the laser scanning microscope is known (FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, light detected by a spectrum detector provided in a laser scanning microscope is converted into an electrical signal. The spectrum detector adds the eight light receiving element outputs and performs A / D conversion, and then outputs an electrical signal to the information processing apparatus (personal computer) via the connection cable. The information processing apparatus receives an electrical signal via the connection cable and performs image processing using the electrical signal.

JP 2003-185582 A

  When trying to analyze the detected spectrum using the spectrum detector of Patent Document 1, the following problems occur. That is, the spectral data detected by the spectrum detector uses the added value of the eight light receiving elements, so the resolution is lowered, and at the same time, the effect of detecting with multiple channels (multiple light receiving elements) is not fully used.

  Further, the spectrum detector and the information processing apparatus are connected by the same number of connection cables as the A / D converter. As a result, as the number of A / D converters increases, the connection cable becomes inconvenient. In addition, when arrange | positioning a spectrum detector and information processing apparatus in the position which left | separated, handling becomes further inconvenient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to simultaneously realize high-resolution spectrum detection using a large number of channels (light receiving element + A / D converter). Provided is an apparatus in which the number of signal lines connected to an information processing apparatus is smaller than the number of A / D converters of a spectrum detector.

  In order to solve the above problems, a spectrum detector according to a first aspect of the present invention is a spectrum detector connected to an information processing apparatus, and is introduced from a light input unit for introducing light and the light input unit. Connected to each of the plurality of light receiving elements, connected to each of the plurality of light receiving elements for detecting the light dispersed by the spectroscopic element for each spectrum and converting it into an analog electric signal. Receiving a plurality of A / D converters that convert the analog electrical signals from the light receiving elements into digital electrical signals, and a plurality of digital electrical signals output from the plurality of A / D converters; And a signal processing unit that sequentially selects a plurality of digital electrical signals and outputs the digital electrical signals to the information processing apparatus via output terminals smaller than the number of the A / D converters.

  A spectrum detector according to a second aspect of the present invention is the spectrum detector according to the first aspect, wherein the signal processing unit receives an input of a control signal output from an external device, and the received control signal is included in the received control signal. Accordingly, the A / D converter that receives the input of the digital electric signal is selected from the plurality of A / D converters, the digital electric signal output by the selected A / D converter is received, and the received signal is received. A digital electrical signal is output to the output terminal.

  A microscope system according to a third aspect of the invention irradiates the specimen with the spectrum detector according to any one of the first and second aspects and illumination light, and collects and observes the light emitted from the specimen. A microscope system having a microscope and the information processing apparatus, wherein the spectrum detector and the microscope are connected by a fiber cable, and the microscope is configured to receive the condensed light via the fiber cable. A signal input to the spectrum detector, wherein the light input unit of the spectrum detector receives the collected light via the fiber cable, and the information processing device is connected to an output terminal of the spectrum detector. A digital electric signal output from the spectrum detector is received, and image processing is performed using the received digital electric signal. To.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the signal processing unit provided in the spectrum detector outputs a plurality of digital electric signals output from the respective A / D converters to a predetermined number smaller than the number of the A / D converters. The information is output to the information processing apparatus via the output terminal. Therefore, according to the present invention, the number of signal lines connected between the spectrum detector and the information processing apparatus can be reduced. In the present invention, the spectrum detector is provided with the same number of A / D converters as the light receiving elements, and the electrical signals detected by the light receiving elements are converted into digital signals and then transmitted to the information processing apparatus. ing. Therefore, in the present invention, signals from a large number of light receiving elements can be obtained at the same time, and high-resolution spectrum detection is possible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, an outline of a microscope system applied to fluorescence spectrum detection to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a microscope system to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied. As illustrated, the microscope system according to the first embodiment includes a laser scanning microscope 101, a spectrum detector (spectrum detector) 102, and a controller (information processing device) 103. In the microscope system according to the first embodiment, the laser scanning microscope 101, the spectrum detector 102, and the controller 103 are each composed of different units so as to be suitable for diversified applications. A monitor 20 is connected to the controller 103.

  The spectrum detector 102 and the controller 103 are connected by a cable 104 with a connector in order to give a degree of freedom in arrangement, and necessary signals are communicated via the cable 104. The laser scanning microscope 101 and the controller 103 are connected by a signal line 200 and communicate necessary signals via the signal line 200. Further, the laser scanning microscope 101 and the spectrum detector 102 are connected by an optical fiber 12, and the light condensed by the laser scanning microscope 101 is guided to the spectrum detector 102 via the optical fiber 12.

  The laser scanning microscope 101 irradiates the surface of the sample 8 with laser light, condenses light (fluorescence) emitted from the sample, and transmits the collected light to the spectrum detector 102 via the optical fiber 12. Specifically, the laser scanning microscope 101 includes a laser 1 that emits laser light, a shutter 2 that blocks or passes light emitted from the laser 1, an optical fiber 3 that transmits light when the shutter 2 is opened, A lens 4, a 1st dichroic mirror 5, a two-dimensional scanning unit 6 (for example, two galvanometer mirror scanners), an objective lens 7, a stage 9, a condenser lens 10, and a pinhole 11 are provided.

  The laser light emitted from the laser 1 is transmitted to the lens 4 through the optical fiber 3 when the shutter 2 is opened. The light transmitted via the optical fiber 3 becomes parallel light by the lens 4, is reflected by the 1st dichroic mirror 5, and is guided to the two-dimensional scanning means 6. The two-dimensional scanning unit 6 is controlled by the XY scanner driving circuit 19 of the controller 103 and illuminates the sample 8 mounted on the stage 9 with a point via the objective lens 7. The illumination light is scanned two-dimensionally in the XY direction by the two-dimensional scanning means 6. Fluorescence is generated from the specimen 8 illuminated at a point by the objective lens 7, and the optical path travels backward as return light, is descanned by the two-dimensional scanning means 6, passes through the 1st dichroic mirror 5, and is a condensing lens. 10 is condensed and passes through the pinhole 11. The fluorescence obtained by the laser scanning microscope 101 is guided to the spectrum detector 102 through the optical fiber 12.

  The spectrum detector 102 is surrounded by a housing that also serves as a light shield. The spectrum detector 102 splits the fluorescence guided through the optical fiber 12, detects the spectral light that has been split, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs it to the controller 103. Specifically, the spectral detector 102 includes a lens 13 that converts the fluorescence from the optical fiber 12 into parallel light, a spectroscopic element (for example, a diffraction grating, a prism, and the like) 14 that splits the parallel light from the lens 13, and a spectral spectrum. And a light detection unit 105 that detects light, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs it.

  The light detection unit 105 includes a multi-channel light detector 15 and an optical signal sampling circuit 16. Then, the spectral light split by the spectroscopic element is incident on the multichannel photodetector 15 and detected with a wavelength resolution based on the diffraction width of the spectral light and the pitch of the detection channel of the multichannel photodetector 15. Each channel signal from the multi-channel detector 15 is sampled by the optical signal sampling circuit 16 as data indicating luminance. Data indicating the sampled luminance is converted into digital data, and then transferred to the image processing circuit 17 of the controller 103 via the cable 104a.

  The controller 103 is a device that controls the operation of the entire system. Specifically, the controller 103 includes an image processing unit 106 having an image processing circuit 17 and a device control circuit 18, and an XY scanner driving circuit 19.

  The apparatus control circuit 18 controls the operations of the laser scanning microscope 101, the spectrum detector 102, and the controller 103 itself. Specifically, the apparatus control circuit 18 transmits a signal indicating the sampling period of data indicating luminance to the optical signal sampling circuit 16 of the spectrum detector 102 via the cable 104b. Further, the apparatus control circuit 18 causes the XY scanner driving circuit 19 to control the operation of the two-dimensional scanning unit 6 of the laser scanning microscope 102. The device control circuit 18 controls the opening / closing of the shutter 2 of the laser scanning microscope 101 via a shutter control circuit (not shown).

  The image processing circuit 17 receives input of digital data output from the spectrum detector 102, performs image processing on the received digital data, and displays an image on the monitor 20.

  Next, the configuration of the above-described light detection unit 105 of the spectrum detector 102 and the image processing unit 106 of the controller 103 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining in detail the configurations of the light detection unit 105 and the image processing unit 106 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the lens 13 and the spectroscopic element 14 of the spectrum detector 102 and the XY scanner driving circuit 19 of the controller 103 are omitted for convenience of explanation.

  First, the light detection unit 105 of the spectrum detector 102 will be described. The light detection unit 105 includes a multi-channel light detector 15, an optical signal sampling circuit 16, and a connector 35. The multichannel photodetector 15 has 32 light receiving elements. Each of the 32 light receiving elements has a detection channel pitch for detecting light in different wavelength regions. Then, the multi-channel photodetector 15 detects the spectrally separated spectrum with a wavelength resolution based on the pitch set for each of the 32 light receiving elements, converts it into a current indicating luminance, and outputs it to the optical signal sampling circuit 16. To do. For example, a photomultiplier tube can be used as the light receiving element of the multichannel photodetector 15. In the present embodiment, the case where the multichannel photodetector 15 has 32 light receiving elements will be described. However, the number of light receiving elements is merely an example.

  The optical signal sampling circuit 16 includes the same number of analog arithmetic circuits 31 as the light receiving elements, the same number of A / D conversion elements 32 as the light receiving elements, the multiplexer 33, and the buffer 34. The optical signal sampling circuit 16 is connected to a connector 35 which is a data input / output terminal.

  The analog arithmetic circuit 31 receives an input of the current output from the light receiving element 31, performs current-voltage conversion and amplification processing on the input current, and outputs the analog voltage signal to the A / D conversion element 32.

  The A / D conversion element 32 receives the sampling clock SCLK synchronized with the scanning of the two-dimensional scanning unit 6 of the laser scanning microscope 101 from the synchronization signal generation circuit 52 of the controller 103 via the cable 104b. The A / D conversion element 32 converts the analog voltage signal output from the analog arithmetic circuit 31 into digital data using the received sampling clock SCLK. In the present embodiment, an example in which an analog voltage signal is converted into 12-bit digital data will be described.

  The A / D conversion element 32 outputs the converted 12-bit digital data to the multiplexer 33 through 12 signal lines. In this embodiment, since 32 A / D conversion elements 32 are provided, digital data is output to the multiplexer 33 through 384 (32 × 12) signal lines. Thus, in this embodiment, the same number of analog arithmetic circuits 31 and A / D conversion elements 32 as the light receiving elements 31 are provided. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously sample data (current) indicating luminance output from the 32 light receiving elements.

  The multiplexer 33 receives the transfer clock TCLK having a frequency 384 (32 × 12) times faster than the sampling clock SCLK synchronized with the scanning of the two-dimensional scanning means 6 from the controller 103 via the cable 104b. The multiplexer 33 sequentially receives input of digital data indicating luminance output from the 32 A / D conversion elements 32 in synchronization with the received transfer clock TCLK. That is, the multiplexer 33 accepts digital data indicating 32 luminances. Then, the multiplexer 33 serially communicates the received digital data indicating the 32 luminances in time series, and outputs it from the connector 35 as one signal line.

  Note that the transfer clock TCLK having a frequency that is 384 (32 × 12) times faster than the sampling clock SCLK indicates 32 luminances output from 384 (32 × 12) signal lines. This is because all data is serially transferred in time series until the next sampling.

  In this way, if digital data indicating a plurality of luminances input to the multiplexer 33 is output by one signal line, a signal indicating 32 luminances respectively detected by 32 light receiving elements is provided as one signal. It is possible to output by the cable 104a.

  Next, the configuration of the image processing unit 106 of the controller 103 will be described in detail. The image processing unit 106 includes an image processing circuit 17 and a device control circuit 18. The image processing circuit 17 includes a buffer 41 for storing the digital data output from the spectrum detector 102, a D / A converter 42 for converting the digital data into analog data, and a frame memory for drawing an image to be displayed on the monitor 20. 43 and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 44 that performs image processing. The device control circuit 18 includes a synchronization signal generation circuit 52 that generates synchronization signals such as the sampling clock SCLK and the transfer clock TCLK, and a CPU 51 that controls the operation of the controller 103.

  Then, the CPU 44 of the image processing circuit 17 acquires the transfer clock TCLK from the synchronization signal generation circuit 52. The CPU 44 temporarily records the digital data indicating the luminance output from the spectrum detector 102 in the frame memory 43 through the buffer 41 in synchronization with the transfer clock TCLK. The CPU 44 displays digital data indicating these luminances as image data on the monitor 20 through the D / A converter 42 according to the purpose, creates a table in a graph or a table by performing arithmetic processing, or a computer Data is transferred to (not shown) or the like.

  The synchronization signal generation circuit 52 of the device control circuit 18 generates a sampling clock SCLK, and the generated sampling clock SCLK is transmitted to the XY scanner driving circuit 19 (see FIG. 1), the A / D conversion element 33 of the spectrum detector 102, and the like. Output to. The synchronization signal generation circuit 52 generates a transfer clock TCLK having a predetermined frequency (for example, a frequency 384 times the sampling clock SCLK) using the generated sampling clock SCLK. The synchronization signal generation circuit 52 outputs the generated transfer clock TCLK to the image processing circuit 17 and the multiplexer 33 of the spectrum detector 102.

  As described above, the spectrum detector 102 of the present embodiment is provided with the A / D conversion element 32 and the multiplexer 33 in the light detection unit 105 having a plurality of light receiving elements, and a plurality of luminance data detected by each light receiving element. Is converted into a serial signal and output.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, data can be transmitted from the spectrum detector 102 to the controller 100 that performs image processing using a single cable. As a result, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of arrangement of the equipment of the microscope system and facilitate installation.

  In the present embodiment, the data indicating the brightness sent from the spectrum detector 102 is digital data. Therefore, the possibility that the data transmitted from the spectrum detector 102 is deteriorated can be reduced.

  Subsequently, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The second embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the configuration of the optical signal sampling circuit 16 of the photodetector 105 of the spectrum detector 102 of the first embodiment. Specifically, in the second embodiment, the number of multiplexers and the number of output ports are increased in consideration of a case where there is a limit to the speed at which digital data indicating luminance is transferred. The second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the optical signal sampling circuit 16 is different. In the description of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for the same components as those in the first embodiment. In the description of the second embodiment, the description will focus on parts that are different from the first embodiment.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the optical signal sampling circuit 16 of the light detection unit 105 of the spectrum detector 102 according to the second embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 3, the lens 13 and the spectroscopic element 14 of the spectrum detector 102 are omitted for convenience of explanation.

  As shown in the figure, the optical signal sampling circuit 16 of the second embodiment is provided with two sets of multiplexers 33 and buffers 34 having the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. Then, 16 A / D conversion elements 32 are assigned to one multiplexer 33. Each multiplexer 33 receives the digital data indicating the 16 luminances output from the 16 A / D conversion elements 32, converts the digital data into serial data, and outputs it from the connector 35 as one signal line. As a result, in the second embodiment, digital data indicating luminance can be output from the spectrum detector 102 to the controller 103 using the two cables 104a.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the speed of serial transfer of digital data indicating luminance is limited, the transfer speed can be suppressed to ½ by doubling the number of output signal lines. It becomes possible.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, the multiplexer 33 may select and transfer digital data indicating the luminance output from the A / D conversion element 32.

  Specifically, the device control circuit 18 of the controller 103 is provided with a function of accepting the setting of “data count” of data indicating luminance to be output to the spectrum detector 102. The device control circuit 18 determines the A / D conversion element 33 to be selected by the multiplexer 33 according to the set “number of data”, generates a control signal indicating the determined A / D conversion element 33, and outputs the control signal to the multiplexer 33. . The multiplexer 33 selects and transfers only the data from the A / D conversion element 32 indicated by the control signal. The device control circuit 18 may select the channel of the light receiving element to be output instead of the “number of data” to be output, and generate a control signal indicating that. The control signal may be generated by an information processing apparatus other than the controller 103 and output to the spectrum detector 102.

  By doing so, the number of data transferred from the spectrum detector 102 can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the multiplexer 33 has exemplified the case where the received digital data is converted into one serial signal and output, but the number of signals output from the multiplexer 33 is particularly limited. do not do. The number may be smaller than the number of light receiving elements. For example, when there is a limit on the transfer speed of digital data, the number of bits of luminance data (here, 12) may be used. In this case, the transfer clock TSLK output from the synchronization signal generation circuit 52 of the controller 103 is set at a frequency 32 times faster than the sampling clock SCLK. Since the multiplexer 33 transfers all 32 pieces of luminance data until the next sampling, the multiplexer 33 synchronizes with the transfer clock TCLK having a frequency 32 times faster than the sampling clock SCLK, and sequentially orders the digital data indicating the luminance. Switch to output. That is, the multiplexer 33 selects one A / D conversion element 32 that sequentially receives digital data indicating luminance, receives luminance data output from the selected A / D conversion element 32 through 12 signal lines, Output via 12 cables 104a. Even with this configuration, the luminance signals detected by the 32 light receiving elements can be output by the 12 cables 104a, and the number of cables connected to the controller 103 can be reduced.

  Further, a circuit that performs processing for averaging data indicating arbitrary luminance may be provided in the optical signal sampling circuit 16 so that the number of data transferred to the controller 103 may be reduced. In order to reduce the size of the spectrum detector 102, the analog arithmetic circuit 31, the A / D conversion element 32, the multiplexer 33, and the buffer 34 may be mounted on one board.

  In the above-described embodiment, the scanning microscope system using the multi-channel photodetector 15 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of the spectrum detector 102, an N channel detector equipped with an N channel single detector may be used. Here, FIG. 4 shows an N-channel detector 300 on which a plurality of single detectors applied to this embodiment are mounted. As shown in the figure, the N-channel detector 300 is provided with N channels of normal single detectors 301a to 301n. The configuration of the optical signal sampling circuit 16 is the same as that described above. And also when comprised in this way, there can exist an effect similar to the said embodiment.

1 is a diagram showing an outline of a microscope system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating in detail the structure of the photon detection part 105 and the image process part 106 of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the optical signal sampling circuit 16 of the photon detection part 105 of the spectrum detector 102 of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the structure of the N channel detector 300 applied to embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser, 2 ... Shutter, 3 ... Optical fiber, 4 ... Lens, 5 ... 1st dichroic mirror, 6 ... Two-dimensional scanning means, 7 ... Objective lens, 8 ... Sample, 9 ... Stage, 10 ... Condensing lens, 11 ... Pinhole, 12 ... optical fiber, 13 ... lens, 14 ... spectroscopic element, 15 ... multi-channel photodetector, 16 ... optical signal sampling circuit, 17 ... image processing circuit, 18 ... device control circuit, 19 ... XY scanner drive circuit, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Monitor, 31 ... Analog arithmetic circuit, 32 ... A / D conversion element, 33 ... Multiplexer, 34 ... Buffer, 35 ... Connector, 41 ... Buffer, 42 ... D / A converter, 43 ... Frame memory, 44 ... CPU , 51... CPU, 52... Synchronization signal generation circuit, 101... Laser scanning microscope, 102. Cable, 105 ... light detection unit, 106 ... image processing unit, 200 ... signal line, 300 ... N-channel detector 300, 301 ... Single Detector

Claims (3)

A spectrum detector connected to the information processing apparatus,
A light input section for introducing light;
A spectroscopic element for splitting light introduced from the light input unit;
A plurality of light receiving elements that detect the light split by the spectral element for each spectrum and convert the light into analog electrical signals;
A plurality of A / D converters connected to each of the plurality of light receiving elements, and converting the analog electric signals from the connected light receiving elements into digital electric signals;
A plurality of digital electrical signals output from each of the plurality of A / D converters are received, and the received plurality of digital electrical signals are sequentially selected via output terminals smaller than the number of the A / D converters. And a signal processing unit for outputting to the information processing apparatus. The spectrum detector according to claim 1, comprising:
The signal processing unit
Accepts control signal input from external devices,
In accordance with the received control signal, an A / D converter that receives an input of a digital electric signal is selected from the plurality of A / D converters, and a digital electric signal output from the selected A / D converter is selected. A spectrum detector characterized by receiving and outputting the received digital electrical signal to the output terminal. A microscope having the spectrum detector according to claim 1, a microscope that irradiates a specimen with illumination light, collects and observes light emitted from the specimen, and the information processing apparatus. A system,
The spectrum detector and the microscope are connected by a fiber cable,
The microscope is
Transmitting the collected light to the spectrum detector via the fiber cable;
The light input portion of the spectrum detector receives the collected light via the fiber cable,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Connected via a signal line connected to the output terminal of the spectrum detector,
A microscope system characterized by receiving an input of a digital electrical signal output by the spectrum detector and performing image processing using the received digital electrical signal.

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