JP2012150142A - Microscope control apparatus, microscope system and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a microscope apparatus in which a sense of incompatibility in operation caused by a time difference between a manual operation instruction and actual drive completion is solved and an excessive time until control completion is reduced.SOLUTION: A microscope control apparatus controls a microscope system for displaying on a display unit a microscopic image captured by an imaging unit via a microscope in which a sample is observed. The microscope control apparatus includes an instruction input unit, a motor-driven unit which is a component of the microscope system and drives the microscope system, and a control unit in which, when instruction information is inputted from the instruction input unit, control is performed to drive the motor-driven unit in accordance with the instruction information, a predetermined image is displayed on the display unit until completing the drive of the motor-driven unit, a display mode of the predetermined image is changed while following up an instruction indicated by the instruction information and after the drive completion of the motor-driven unit, a microscopic image captured in real time by the imaging unit is displayed on the display unit.

Description

  The present invention relates to a microscope system including an electric stage.

  Microscope devices are widely used in research and inspection in the biological field including the industrial field. Furthermore, conventionally, the dimming control according to the observation method and the magnification of the objective lens, the switching of various optical elements, the movement within the plane of the stage on which the sample is placed, and the adjustment of each part accompanying the observation such as raising and lowering are motorized. There is known an electric microscope that performs the above.

  Such an electric microscope is connected to an input device such as a personal computer (PC), and the operation of each part of the electric microscope is controlled based on the control contents from the input device. In recent years, the observation image can be recorded as image data, displayed on a display unit such as a monitor, and the like by adopting an imaging unit such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera.

  However, compared with a manual microscope, the electric microscope is not operated by a human hand, and the result is that the electric drive unit moves as a result of the image display on the display unit obtained in response to the input instruction given by the observer. There may be a sense of incongruity in error and delay, and a poor operational feeling.

  For such an error, a means for correcting the obtained image by performing mechanical adjustment after the operation is disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-29163 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 does not eliminate the sense of discomfort with respect to the human sense of operation and the delay of the drive unit. For this reason, an extra operation is required in the delay time between the operation instruction and the operation result (for example, it is necessary to return the position by giving an extra drive instruction to the electric stage while the movement is not completed). ) May occur.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a microscope apparatus that improves and shortens the sense of incongruity of operations that occur due to the time difference between an operation instruction by a human hand and actual driving completion, and the excessive time until control completion.

  According to the present invention, a microscope control device that controls a microscope system that displays a microscope image captured by an imaging unit via a microscope for observing a sample on a display unit inputs instruction information for operating the microscope system. An instruction input unit; an electric unit that is a component of the microscope system and that drives the microscope system; and when the instruction information is input from the instruction input unit, the electric unit is driven according to the instruction information Until the driving of the electric part is completed, a predetermined image is displayed on the display part, and the display mode of the predetermined image is changed following the instruction indicated by the instruction information. And a control unit that displays a microscope image captured in real time by the imaging unit on the display unit.

  The electric unit is an electric stage on which the sample is mounted and moves relative to the microscope at least in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, and the control unit includes the instruction information When the instruction is to move the stage in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, the display position of the predetermined image is moved following the instruction.

  The control unit may change the size of the predetermined image following the instruction when the instruction information is an instruction to change an observation field of view of the microscope image displayed on the display unit. And

  In addition, when the instruction information is input from the instruction input unit, the control unit performs control to drive the electric unit according to the instruction information according to the driving state of the electric unit, and Until the driving of the unit is completed, a predetermined image is displayed on the display unit, the display mode of the predetermined image is changed following the instruction indicated by the instruction information, and after the driving of the electric unit is completed, the imaging A microscope image captured in real time by the unit is displayed on the display unit.

  The electric unit is an electric stage on which the sample is placed and moves relative to the microscope at least in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, and the instruction information is input by the instruction input unit. Is input when the imaging speed of the imaging unit per unit time is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, or when the moving speed of the electric stage is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, or the moving time of the electric stage is predetermined. The control unit performs control to drive the electric unit according to the instruction information.

  In addition, when the instruction information is continuously input a plurality of times within a predetermined time, the control unit changes the display mode of the predetermined image following each instruction, and the target of the instruction Control is performed such that a certain electric unit performs minimum driving.

  In addition, the electric unit is an electric stage on which the sample is placed and moves relative to the microscope at least in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction. In addition, when an instruction to move the electric stage in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction is continuously input a plurality of times, the predetermined image is moved following each instruction, and the electric stage is Control is performed so as to make the shortest movement.

  In addition, when the instruction information for changing the observation field of the microscope image displayed on the display unit is continuously input a plurality of times within a predetermined time, the control unit follows each operation instruction. And changing the size of the predetermined image and controlling the field of view to be minimized.

  The microscope system further includes a storage unit that stores the predetermined image in association with at least one of the stage coordinates and the magnification of the observation field. To do.

Further, the microscope system may include the microscope control device.
According to the present invention, there is provided a control method of a microscope control apparatus for controlling a microscope system that displays a microscope image captured by an imaging unit via a microscope for observing a sample on a display unit. Instruction information for operating the microscope system When the instruction information is input from the instruction input unit for inputting the power, control is performed to drive an electric unit that drives the microscope system, which is a component of the microscope system, according to the instruction information. Until the driving of the unit is completed, a predetermined image is displayed on the display unit, the display mode of the predetermined image is changed following the instruction indicated by the instruction information, and after the driving of the electric unit is completed, the imaging A microscope image captured in real time by the unit is displayed on the display unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve or shorten an uncomfortable feeling of an operation caused by a time difference between an operation instruction by a human hand and an actual driving completion and an excessive time until the control is completed.

The structural example of the microscope system in 1st Embodiment (Example 1) is shown. The example of a GUI displayed on the monitor 18 in 1st Embodiment (Example 1) is shown. A setting example of a monitor in which only the display unit 201 is set is shown. It is a figure for demonstrating the position of the electric stage 9 corresponding to the observation visual field in 1st Embodiment (Example 1). In the first embodiment (Example 1), the electric stage is moved to the target position, the pseudo image is moved following the operation instruction of the operator, and after the movement of the electric stage 9 is completed, the pseudo image is displayed in real time. It is a figure for demonstrating the process replaced with the image data of. The display control processing flow of the display image accompanying the movement of the electric stage 9 in 1st Embodiment (Example 1) is shown. The structural example of the microscope system in 1st Embodiment (Example 2) is shown. The observation visual field switched according to visual field switching (change of scanner amplitude) on the electric stage 9 in the first embodiment (Example 2) is shown. In the first embodiment (Example 2), the observation visual field is switched to the enlargement direction (scanner amplitude is changed from large to small), and the pseudo image is enlarged following the operation instruction of the operator. It is a figure for demonstrating the process which replaces the pseudo image with the image data acquired in real time after the completion of switching. In the first embodiment (Example 2), the observation field of view is switched to the reduction direction (scanner amplitude is changed from small to large), and the pseudo image is reduced following the operation instruction of the operator. It is a figure for demonstrating the process which replaces the pseudo image with the image data acquired in real time after the completion of switching. The display control processing flow of the display image accompanying the switching of the observation visual field in 1st Embodiment (Example 2) is shown. The display control processing flow of the display image accompanying the movement of the electric stage in 2nd Embodiment is shown. The (A) instruction | indication path | route and (B) actual moving path | route in the case of driving the electric stage 9 in 3rd Embodiment (Example 1) are shown. The display control processing flow of the display image accompanying the drive of the electric stage 9 in 3rd Embodiment (Example 1) is shown. In the third mode for embodying the present invention (embodiment 2), (A) visual field switching instruction progress and (B) visual field switching actual driving are shown. The display control processing flow of the display image accompanying the drive of the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 in 3rd Embodiment (Example 2) is shown. The pseudo image management table 40 for managing the pseudo image linked | related with the XY coordinate of the motorized stage 9 and the magnification of the objective lens 8 in 4th Embodiment is shown. The display control processing flow of the display image accompanying the movement of the electric stage 9 in 4th Embodiment is shown. It is a block diagram of the hardware environment of the computer 21 in the first to fourth embodiments.

  The microscope control apparatus according to the present embodiment controls a microscope system that displays a microscope image captured by an imaging unit on a display unit via a microscope that observes a sample. The microscope control device includes an instruction input unit, an electric unit, and a control unit.

The instruction input unit inputs instruction information for operating the microscope system. The instruction input unit corresponds to, for example, the operation area 203 or the direction instruction unit 205 in the present embodiment.
The electric part is a component of the microscope system and drives the microscope system. For example, in the present embodiment, the electric unit corresponds to the electric stage 9 and the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30.

  When the instruction information is input from the instruction input unit, the control unit performs control to drive the electric unit according to the instruction information, and displays a predetermined image until the driving of the electric unit is completed. Display on the display unit, change the display mode of the predetermined image following the instruction indicated by the instruction information, and after the driving of the electric unit is completed, a microscope image captured in real time by the imaging unit is displayed on the display unit Can be displayed. For example, in the present embodiment, the control unit corresponds to the control unit 21-1.

  By configuring in this way, it is possible to improve or shorten an uncomfortable feeling of operation caused by a time difference between an operation instruction by a human hand and actual driving completion and an excessive time until control completion.

  The electric part is an electric stage on which the sample is placed and moves relative to the microscope at least in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction. In this case, when the instruction information is an instruction to move the stage in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, the control unit moves the display position of the predetermined image following the instruction. Can do.

With this configuration, the driving completion position of the electric stage can be known at the instructed timing, so that the uncomfortable feeling of operation due to the delay of the driving system can be eliminated.
When the instruction information is an instruction to change the observation field of the microscope image displayed on the display unit, the control unit can change the size of the predetermined image following the instruction.

  With this configuration, since the field of view after the magnification change is known at the instructed timing, it is possible to eliminate an uncomfortable feeling of operation due to a delay in the drive system, and to shorten the time until adjustment to the target field of view. be able to.

  When the instruction information is input from the instruction input unit, the control unit performs control to drive the electric unit according to the instruction information according to a driving state of the electric unit, and Until the driving is completed, a predetermined image is displayed on the display unit, the display mode of the predetermined image is changed following the instruction indicated by the instruction information, and after the driving of the electric unit is completed, the imaging unit A microscope image captured in real time is displayed on the display unit.

With this configuration, it is possible to suppress excessive switching of the screen by performing the pseudo image display process only in a predetermined case.
The electric part is an electric stage on which the sample is placed and moves relative to the microscope at least in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, and the instruction information is input by the instruction input part. In the situation, the control unit performs the following. That is, when the imaging speed of the imaging unit per unit time is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, or when the moving speed of the electric stage is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold, or the moving time of the electric stage is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold. In this case, the control unit performs control to drive the electric unit in accordance with the instruction information.

  With this configuration, the pseudo image display process is performed only when the moving speed of the electric stage 9 is slower than the threshold T1, the moving time is longer than the threshold T2, or the frame rate is slower than the threshold T3. Thus, excessive screen switching can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to prevent a delay in processing speed by reducing the load on the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21. Further, it is possible to prevent unnecessary screen switching. For this reason, it is possible to prevent waiting time due to switching, confusion caused by switching between a pseudo image and a real-time image in a short time, and the operational feeling is improved.

  When the instruction information is continuously input a plurality of times within a predetermined time, the control unit changes the display mode of the predetermined image following each instruction, and is the target of the instruction The motor is controlled so as to perform minimum driving.

  With this configuration, the operator can finely adjust the target position with a good feeling of operation while looking at the display screen without worrying about unnecessary movement of the microscope system due to excessive instructions. In addition, useless driving of the microscope system is eliminated, and the time until the driving is completed can be shortened.

  The electric part is an electric stage on which the sample is placed and moves relative to the microscope at least in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction. In this case, when an instruction to move the electric stage in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction is input a plurality of times within a predetermined time, the control unit follows the instructions. The predetermined image is moved and controlled so that the movement of the electric stage is minimized.

  With this configuration, when a driving instruction is input a plurality of times within a specified time, the display system sequentially follows the instruction in the display system, while the display form of the pseudo image changes. The drive instructions can be combined into one, and the final designated position can be reached with minimal drive.

  When the instruction information for changing the observation visual field of the microscope image displayed on the display unit is continuously input a plurality of times within a predetermined time, the control unit follows the operation instructions and follows the operation instructions. The size of the predetermined image is changed, and control is performed so that the driving for switching the visual field is minimized.

  With this configuration, when a driving instruction is input a plurality of times within a specified time, the display system sequentially follows the instruction in the display system, while the display form of the pseudo image changes. It is possible to combine the drive instructions into one and switch to the final field of view with minimal drive.

  The microscope system may further include a storage unit that stores the predetermined image in association with at least one of the stage coordinates and the observation field magnification.

  With such a configuration, by acquiring and storing more optimal pseudo image data, it is not necessary to store data at the time of an operation instruction, so that switching to a pseudo image can be performed quickly and time can be reduced.

Note that the microscope system may include a microscope control device.
Details of this embodiment will be described below.
<First Embodiment>
Example 1
In the first embodiment (Example 1), a pseudo image is displayed while the electric stage 9 is moving, and when there is an operation instruction from the operator, the pseudo image is moved following the operation instruction. A microscope system that replaces the pseudo image with real-time image data after the movement of the electric stage 9 is completed will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a microscope system in the first embodiment (Example 1). The epi-illumination light source 1 includes, for example, a halogen lamp, an LED (Light-emitting diode), or the like. In the optical system of the microscope system in this embodiment, the light from the epi-illumination light source 1 passes through the illumination system lens 2, the aperture stop 3, and the field stop 4, and the half mirror 6 configured in the observation method switching unit 5. Reflected by the optical member. The light reflected by the optical member such as the half mirror 6 is reflected on the sample 10 placed on the electric stage 9 through the objective lens 8 that can be selected by the revolver 7 and is reflected on the surface.

  Reflected light from the sample 10 passes through the half mirror 6 of the observation method switching unit 5 through the objective lens 8 and enters the imaging lens 11. When the optical path switching unit 12 is selected on the viewing side, the light incident on the imaging lens 11 is reflected by the mirror 13 and incident on the barrel binocular unit 14 and imaged at the eye point 15. . When the optical path switching unit 12 is selected on the camera observation side, the light incident on the imaging lens 11 is imaged by the imaging element 17 inside the camera 16.

  Each of the observation method switching units 5 includes a plurality of cube units having various optical elements. The observation method switching unit 5 can be arranged on the observation optical axis by the operator selectively switching any one of the plurality of cube units. The cube unit can determine the selected state by the sensor 5-1.

  As described above, the optical path switching unit 12 can switch the imaging position by the operator inserting and removing the mirror 13. When the imaging position is set to the image sensor 17 inside the camera 16, an image detected by the image sensor 17 is displayed on the monitor 18.

  The revolver 7 is provided with a plurality of different objective lenses 8 for each magnification, observation method, and the like. “M” in FIG. 1 indicates an electric part where a motor exists, and “S” in FIG. 1 indicates that a sensor for detection exists. In this embodiment, the drive unit 22 controls the motor 7-1 to rotate the revolver 7, and the objective lens 8 is switched, and this switching position is detected by the sensor 7-2 so that which objective lens is on the optical path. It can detect whether it is placed.

  The electric stage 9 can be moved in the XY direction by controlling the motor 9-1 by the drive unit 22 in a state where the sample 10 is placed on the objective lens 8. The electric stage 9 incorporates a device capable of managing the current coordinates, such as a configuration using a stepping motor or a configuration incorporating a laser scale.

  The control circuit 19 is configured by the computer 21 and receives an instruction input via a graphical user interface (GUI) displayed on the monitor 18 and an instruction from the operation unit 20. Then, the control circuit 19 sends a control signal for driving each electric unit to the drive unit 22 based on the received instruction.

  The computer 21 has an arithmetic function for performing image processing and a data storage unit 23 therein. The data storage unit 23 is a memory that stores image data captured by the camera 16 and various setting information. The data storage unit 23 may be inside the computer 21, may be incorporated in other parts such as the microscope main body 100 and the camera 16, or may be configured separately.

  The operation unit 20 is configured by a hand switch, a joystick, an encoder, and the like on which operation buttons are arranged, but may be a device having functions such as a computer 21 and a monitor 18 such as a touch panel PC.

  FIG. 2 shows a display example of the GUI displayed on the monitor 18 in the first mode for embodying the present invention (embodiment 1). The GUI displayed on the monitor 18 includes an image display unit 201 and an operation area 202. The image display unit 201 displays image data being captured by the camera 16 and a pseudo image described later. In the operation area 202, operation instruction units such as a direction instruction unit 205 and an optical member switching operation unit 204 are provided. By operating the direction instruction unit 205, it is possible to instruct a moving direction and a switching direction. The optical member switching operation unit 204 is provided with a button for switching the optical member.

  Further, the operation area 203 is arranged on the image display unit 201, and the movement of the electric stage 9 can be instructed by dragging or clicking on the image. In the case where an instruction is given to the control circuit 19 using the operation unit 20, the description may be made with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 shows a setting example of a monitor in which only the display unit 201 is set. When an instruction is given to the control circuit 19 using the operation unit 20, only the display unit 201 may be set on the monitor 18, as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the position of the electric stage 9 corresponding to the observation visual field in the first mode for embodying the present invention (Example 1). A position of the electric stage 9 corresponding to the observation visual field before the movement instruction is indicated by a position A. The position of the electric stage 9 corresponding to the observation visual field after completion of the movement of the electric stage 9 is indicated by a position C. An intermediate position between position A and position C is indicated by position B. When the position corresponding to the observation visual field is instructed to move from the position A to the position C, the electric stage 9 passes through the intermediate position B and moves from the position A to the position C over time. In the conventional configuration, the image data currently captured by the camera 16 is displayed on the image data display unit 201. Therefore, the operator cannot grasp the position of the designated movement destination until the movement of the electric stage 9 is completed, and confirms whether or not the operator moves to the target position until the driving of the electric stage 9 is completed. Can not.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment (Example 1), a pseudo image is displayed while the electric stage 9 is moving, and the pseudo image is moved in real time following the operation instruction of the operator. After the movement of the electric stage 9 is completed, when acquisition of real-time image data at the movement completion position is completed, processing for replacing the pseudo image with the image data acquired in real time is performed. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment (Example 1) in which the electric stage is moved to the target position and the pseudo image is moved following the operation instruction of the operator. It is a figure for demonstrating the process which replaces a pseudo image with real-time image data.

  The display state 601 is image data at the position A (first position) displayed on the image display unit 201 at the position A (first position) of the electric stage 9. In the display state 601, when the operator gives a movement instruction as indicated by an arrow 610, the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21 simulates the image of the observation field of view at the position A currently displayed on the image display unit 201. Stored as an image 620. A predetermined image may be stored in advance, and the stored image may be used as the pseudo image 620.

  It is assumed that the operator gives an instruction to move the electric stage 9 by operating the operation area 203 or the like, for example. Then, as shown in the display state 602, the image (pseudo image 620) displayed on the image display unit 201 is instantaneously moved to a position that matches the coordinates in accordance with the movement instruction. That is, under the control of the computer 21, the pseudo image 620 moves in real time in accordance with the amount of movement instruction.

  When the movement is completed and the observation visual field reaches the position C of the electric stage 9, an image of the observation visual field at the position C is acquired in real time. Then, as shown in the display state 603, the pseudo image 620 is updated with the image 621 acquired in real time.

  Thus, the pseudo image 620 displayed on the image display unit 201 is moved and displayed in accordance with the instruction speed of the operator. Thereby, as shown in the display state 602 even when the electric stage 9 is being driven, the image at the position A (before movement) shown in the display state 601 is displayed in the field of view after the movement of the electric stage 9 (that is, the display range of the image display unit 201). You can see where it will be. Therefore, the operator can artificially grasp the state of the observation visual field after the movement at the timing when the movement instruction is given.

  At this time, as a result of moving the pseudo image, the area where the pseudo image has been displayed until then may be in a state where nothing is displayed as in the display state 602. Further, as shown in the display state 604, a portion other than the pseudo image 620, although the resolution is reduced, may be displayed in a pseudo manner by supplementing the image 606 with another magnification (for example, a low magnification) having a wide field of view. Further, as shown in the display state 605, if there is another image 607 (for example, an image stored for pasting or the like) associated with the XY coordinates of the electric stage 9, the image 607 is used to simulate the image 607. The image may be supplemented. Note that an image stored for pasting is an image in which an observation target is divided into a plurality of sections, a high-definition image is captured, and adjacent edges of the sections adjacent to each other are pasted together to form one observation image. An image divided into each of these sections when formed.

  FIG. 6 shows a display image display control process flow accompanying the movement of the electric stage 9 in the first mode for embodying the present invention (embodiment 1). The operator of the microscope instructs the movement of the electric stage 9 according to the direction instruction from the operation area 203 or the direction instruction unit 205 while viewing the image displayed on the monitor 18. When the operation area 203 is used at this time, the operator gives a movement instruction by clicking or dragging the image displayed on the image display unit 201.

  Upon receiving the movement instruction (S1), the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21 stores the currently displayed image of the observation field of view, or selects arbitrary data from the image data stored in the data storage unit 23. An image is selected (S2). Then, the control unit 21-1 displays the stored data or the selected image data on the image display unit 201 as a pseudo image 620 (S3).

  Next, the control unit 21-1 moves the pseudo image displayed on the image display unit 201 according to the instruction amount to the operation area 203 (S4). The control unit 21-1 calculates the drive amount of the electric stage 9 based on the stage coordinates corresponding to the currently selected visual field and the instruction amount indicated in the operation area 203, and sends the electric stage to the control circuit 19. The drive instruction to 9 is output.

  The control circuit 19 outputs a control signal to the drive unit 22 and starts driving the electric stage 9 (S5). About procedure S4, S5, which process may be performed first and may be performed simultaneously.

  When the driving of the electric stage 9 is completed (“Yes” in S6), the control unit 21-1 updates the image displayed on the image display unit 201 (S7). In other words, as shown in the display state 603, the image displayed on the image display unit 201 is switched from the pseudo image 620 to image data captured in real time by the camera 16.

  In the above description, either of the processes S4 and S5 may be performed first or at the same time. However, after the completion of the movement of the pseudo image in S4 is confirmed, the electric stage 9 in S5 is performed. You may make it start a drive.

  In the conventional configuration, if the drive of the drive system is delayed with respect to the operation instruction, an excessive instruction amount is specified before the drive is completed, and an instruction for returning it is repeated. In addition, since it is not known at the time of the operation instruction that the instruction amount is insufficient, the completion of driving is waited many times, and the driving instruction for the insufficient amount is repeated. However, according to the present embodiment, since the drive completion position can be known at the instructed timing, it is possible to eliminate an uncomfortable feeling of operation due to a delay in the drive system. Therefore, it is difficult to specify an excessive instruction amount, and the time until the operator drives the electric stage 9 to a target position can be reduced.

  In addition, when the stop and drive are repeated, the drive system such as the motor reduces the load, so even if the overall drive amount does not change, the speed immediately after the start of movement, such as trapezoidal drive, etc. It is often driven by the method of falling. In the case of such a driving method, since the speed is not constant with respect to the entire moving amount, it is easy for the operator to feel that it is too late immediately after driving or to feel uncomfortable in operation such as not knowing where to stop before stopping. . Further, since the movement ends before reaching the maximum speed with a small amount of movement, if the start and stop are repeated little by little, the movement takes extra time. However, according to the present embodiment, since the displayed image (pseudo image) moves to the designated position in real time at the designated timing, such a sense of incongruity can be eliminated. Accordingly, the time can be reduced because it is not necessary to repeat a small amount of movement.

(Example 2)
In the present embodiment (Example 2), a pseudo image is displayed while the field of view is switched, and the display size of the pseudo image is changed following the operation instruction of the operator when there is an operation instruction of the operator. A microscope system that replaces the pseudo image with real-time image data after switching of the observation field of view will be described.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of the microscope system in the first mode for embodying the present invention (embodiment 2). In this embodiment, a microscope generally called a laser scanning microscope is used.
First, laser light from a laser light source 24 that generates laser light as spot light is reflected by a mirror 26, passes through a half mirror 27, and enters a two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30.

  The two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 is a mechanism for two-dimensionally scanning the laser light from the laser light source 24 obtained through the mirror 26, and is a two-axis scanner in which X-direction and Y-direction galvano scanners are combined. It is composed of. The two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 performs two-dimensional scanning of the optical path of the spot light by shaking the galvano scanner in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction based on the control of the two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 29.

  The spot light that is two-dimensionally scanned by the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 is reflected by the half mirror 6 that is a semitransparent mirror, and is irradiated onto the sample 10 held on the electric stage 9 via the objective lens 8. The reflected light from the sample 10 returns to the half mirror 27 that is a semitransparent mirror through the objective lens 8 and the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30. The reflected light from the surface of the sample 10 obtained through the half mirror 27 is collected by the lens 28, enters the photodetector 25, is converted into an electric signal, and is output to the computer 21.

  The computer 21 performs imaging processing based on the electrical signal input from the photodetector 25 and the timing signal from the two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 29 and displays the surface information of the sample 10 on the monitor 18.

  The field of view of the microscope according to the second embodiment can be changed by changing the scanning width of the scanner of the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30. When the scanning width of the scanner is reduced and imaging is performed using the timing signal from the two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 29 described above, the field of view of the acquired image is reduced. However, since the total number of samples of data in one screen does not change, the resolution is increased and the image is displayed in an enlarged state.

  Further, when the scanning width is increased, the field of view is increased. However, since the total number of data samplings does not change, the resolution is lowered and the image is displayed in a reduced state. In the microscope according to the second embodiment, the image is continuously enlarged and reduced by such control.

  FIG. 8 shows the observation visual field that is switched in accordance with the visual field switching (change of the scanner amplitude) on the electric stage 9 in the first mode for embodying the present invention (Example 2). An observation field before expansion of the observation field is indicated by A. The observation visual field after expansion of the observation visual field is indicated by B.

  FIG. 9A shows that the observation visual field in the first embodiment (Example 2) is switched in the enlargement direction (scanner amplitude is changed from large to small) and the pseudo image is enlarged following the operation instruction of the operator. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a process of replacing the pseudo image with image data acquired in real time after switching of the observation field of view is completed.

  A display state 901 is image data corresponding to the visual field area A displayed on the image display unit 201. In the display state 901, the operator gives an instruction to enlarge and display a part of the image displayed on the image display unit 201. This enlargement instruction may be an enlargement of the area in which the user designates the field of view, or may be a drag operation, objective lens switching, or ZOOM. Then, the image of the designated area is held as a pseudo image 920.

  Then, as shown in a display state 902, a pseudo image 920 that matches the display area (field of view) of the image display unit 201 is instantaneously displayed. In this case, the pseudo image 920 is enlarged to the display area size of the image display unit 201.

  Note that the pseudo image 920 may be an image stored in advance. For example, as shown in the display state 904, an image used as the previous pseudo image or a stored image with a corresponding magnification may be used as the pseudo image 920a.

  When the switching of the observation visual field is completed, a current image in the observation visual field after the switching is acquired. Then, as shown in the display state 903, the pseudo image 920 (or 920a) is updated with the acquired real-time image 921.

  As described above, even when the scanner amplitude is changed, as in the display state 902, the image before enlargement is enlarged and displayed as a pseudo enlarged image at the same time as the operation instruction. Thereby, the operator can grasp | ascertain the state after expansion in a pseudo manner.

  FIG. 9B shows that the observation visual field in the first embodiment (Example 2) is switched in the reduction direction (scanner amplitude is changed from small to large), and the pseudo image is reduced following the operation instruction of the operator. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a process of replacing the pseudo image with image data acquired in real time after switching of the observation field of view is completed.

  As shown in the display state 910, the image of the visual field displayed on the image display unit 201 is acquired and stored as a pseudo image 920. Then, as shown in a display state 911, the pseudo image 920 is reduced following the operation instruction of the operator.

When the switching of the observation visual field is completed, an image of the observation visual field after the switching is acquired in real time. Then, the pseudo image 920 is updated with the acquired real-time image.
FIG. 10 shows a display image display control process flow associated with switching of the visual field in the first mode for embodying the present invention (embodiment 2). In the second embodiment, the two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 29 controls the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 to change the amplitude width of the scanner (change the resolution) to enlarge or reduce the image.

  First, the microscope operator instructs the visual field switching (image enlargement / reduction) from the operation unit 20, the GUI display operation area 202, the operation area 203, or the like displayed on the monitor 18. This instruction may be expanded by dragging from the center to the outside in the operation area 203, and reduced by dragging from the outside to the center, for example. In addition, an instruction unit indicating enlargement or reduction may be displayed in the operation area 202, and an instruction may be given using the instruction unit.

  When the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21 receives an instruction to switch the visual field (S 11), the pseudo image is stored or selected (S 12), and the pseudo image is displayed (S 13). The processes of S11, S12, and S13 are the same processes as S1, S2, and S3 of FIG.

  Next, the control unit 21-1 enlarges or reduces the pseudo image 920 displayed on the image display unit 201 in accordance with the instruction amount and the instruction timing input from the operation area 203 (S14). At this time, the control unit 21-1 calculates the scanning width of the scanner based on the currently selected visual field and the instruction amount instructed in the operation area 203, and the two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 29 performs two-dimensional scanning. A drive instruction to the scanning mechanism 30 is output.

  When the two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 29 outputs a control signal to the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30, the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 starts driving (S15). In the case of switching to an enlarged image, the image is acquired with the scanning width of the scanner reduced and the resolution increased. In the case of switching to a reduced image, the image is acquired with the scanning width of the scanner increased and the resolution reduced. In addition, about process S14, S15, which process may be performed first and may be performed simultaneously.

  When switching to the enlarged image or the reduced image is completed (“Yes” in S16), the control unit 21-1 updates the display image (S17). That is, as shown in the display state 903, the image on the image display unit 201 is switched from the pseudo image 920 to image data captured in real time by the camera 16.

  In such a configuration in which not only the scanner amplitude change time but also each pixel is sampled with a timing signal, a distorted and incorrect image with different enlargement ratios on the upper and lower sides of the screen may be displayed. In other words, there are cases where the screen does not follow the scanner change time, and there is a possibility that the screen may be followed but abnormal. If the image is captured as it is when the scanner amplitude is electrically changed, the process of changing the scanner amplitude is reflected. At this time, a distorted image such as the amplitude before the change on the upper side of the screen and the amplitude after the instruction on the lower side of the screen may be reflected. However, if Example 2 is applied, this can also be avoided. That is, such an image of an abnormal scale can be hidden with a pseudo image, so that the user is not confused.

  In the second embodiment, the description has been given using the scanner, but of course, the zoom lens may be driven to enlarge or reduce the field of view, or the objective lens may be switched to change the field of view. A combination of these may also be used. When the objective lens is switched, a screen that displays nothing when the display is switched may be explicitly inserted to indicate that the change is not continuous. In this way, during the instruction from the operation area 203, it is easy for the operator to understand that the zoom lens is used until the enlargement, and that the objective lens is switched from here on.

  As in the first embodiment, since the field of view after the change is known at the instructed timing, it is possible to eliminate the uncomfortable feeling of the operation due to the delay of the drive system, and to shorten the time until the adjustment to the target field of view. .

  In the second embodiment, either of the processes S14 and S15 may be performed first or simultaneously. However, after the completion of the pseudo-image size change in S14, the process of S15-2 is performed. The driving of the dimension scanning mechanism 30 may be started.

In the first embodiment, the pseudo image may be an image used as the previous pseudo image or a stored image with a corresponding magnification.
According to this embodiment (Example 1), since the drive completion position of the electric stage is known at the instructed timing, it is possible to eliminate the uncomfortable feeling of operation due to the delay of the drive system. Therefore, it is difficult to specify an excessive instruction amount, and the time until the operator drives the electric stage 9 to a target position can be reduced. Further, the time can be shortened because it is not necessary to repeat a small amount of movement.

  Further, according to the present embodiment (Example 2), since the field of view after the magnification change is known at the instructed timing, it is possible to eliminate the uncomfortable feeling of operation due to the delay of the drive system, and to adjust to the target field of view. Can be shortened.

<Second Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, when the moving speed of the electric stage 9 is slower than the predetermined speed or the moving time is longer than the predetermined time, or the frame rate of the image sensor 17 is slower than the predetermined speed, the first embodiment (Example 1). A microscope system that performs the pseudo display described in (1) will be described.

  Since the configuration of the microscope system in this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment (Example 1), a description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not pseudo display is performed depending on the state of the microscope 100.

  FIG. 11 shows a display control processing flow of a display image accompanying the movement of the electric stage in the second embodiment. For example, in this embodiment, when an operation instruction is received from the operation unit 20 (S21), the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21 determines whether or not the moving speed of the electric stage 9 is equal to or higher than the threshold value T1, or the moving time is equal to or lower than the threshold value T2. Is determined (S22).

  If the moving speed of the electric stage 9 is sufficiently high with respect to the instructed moving speed, the operator can instruct the operation without a sense of incongruity, and therefore it is not necessary to use a pseudo image. Therefore, when it is determined that the moving speed of the electric stage 9 is equal to or higher than the threshold value T1 (“Yes” in S22), the process proceeds to S23.

  Further, if the moving amount of the electric stage 9 is very small, the moving time is fast, so there is a case where it is delayed in time to switch the display of the pseudo image. In this case, it is not necessary to use a pseudo image. Therefore, when it is determined that the moving time of the electric stage 9 is equal to or less than the threshold value T2 (“Yes” in S22), the process proceeds to S23.

  Next, when it is determined that the moving speed of the electric stage 9 is equal to or higher than the threshold value T1 or the moving time is equal to or lower than the threshold value T2, the control unit 21-1 uses the imaging device 17 per unit time determined by the exposure time, the number of display pixels, and the like. It is determined whether or not the frame rate indicating the number of acquired images is equal to or less than a threshold T3 (S23). If the frame rate is slow, the screen switching is slow even if the drive system is following, so that the image update interval is time-spaced. Then, it may be difficult to confirm the amount of movement, or an incorrect screen may appear such that the imaging position is different between the top and bottom of the screen. For this reason, for example, when the frame rate is low (“No” in S23), the setting is switched to the setting for performing pseudo display. The thresholds T1, T2, and T3 in such field switching can be arbitrarily set. For example, the threshold values T1, T2, and T3 are stored in the data storage unit 23 and the like.

  When it is determined that the moving speed of the electric stage 9 is slower than the threshold T1 or the moving time is longer than the threshold T2 (“No” in S22), or when the frame rate is determined to be slower than the threshold T3 (in S23) “No”), that is, when it is determined that the pseudo display is necessary, the control unit 21-1 performs the processes of S24 to S29. The processes from S24 to S29 are the same as S2 to S7 in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the pseudo display is not necessary (“Yes” in S23), the display data is updated in real time as usual (S29).
By performing the pseudo image display process only when the moving speed of the electric stage 9 is slower than the threshold T1, the moving time is longer than the threshold T2, or the frame rate is slower than the threshold T3 as in the present embodiment. , Excessive screen switching can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to prevent a delay in processing speed by reducing the load on the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21. Further, it is possible to prevent unnecessary screen switching. For this reason, it is possible to prevent waiting time due to switching, confusion caused by switching between a pseudo image and a real-time image in a short time, and the operational feeling is improved.

<Third Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, when a predetermined electric unit (for example, the electric stage 9, the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30) is driven, a pseudo image is displayed, and a plurality of operation instructions are continuously given within a predetermined time. On the display screen, the display form of the pseudo image is changed following each operation instruction of the operator, and the actual driving of the electric unit is integrated into one to minimize the display. A microscope system to be driven will be described.

Example 1
For example, when the third embodiment is applied to the first embodiment (Example 1), it is as follows. That is, during the movement of the electric stage 9, a pseudo image is displayed, and when a movement instruction is continuously given within a predetermined time, the pseudo image is moved following the operation instruction of the operator, and the stage movement is performed. As for actual driving, driving is performed so as to reach the target position with minimum driving.

Note that the configuration of the microscope system in the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment (Example 1), and is therefore omitted.
FIG. 12 shows (A) an instruction path and (B) an actual movement path when driving the electric stage 9 in the third mode for embodying the present invention (embodiment 1). For example, the operator gives a movement instruction within a specified time so that the position of the observation field of view moves in the order of positions A, B, C, and D. In this case, the pseudo image displayed on the image display unit 201 moves in the order of positions A, B, C, and D following the instruction as shown in FIG. However, the actual movement of the electric stage 9 is controlled so that these commands are combined into one and moved directly from the position A to the target position D as shown in FIG.

  Further, when an instruction to move to positions C and D is given while the electric stage 9 is moving from the position A to the position B, an operation is performed in which the target position is changed and the electric stage 9 moves to the position D. You can also.

  FIG. 13 shows a display image display control process flow associated with driving of the electric stage 9 in the third mode for embodying the present invention (embodiment 1). As in the first embodiment (Example 1), an operation instruction is received from the operator (S31). Then, the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21 stores or selects the pseudo image data (S32), and displays the pseudo image on the image display unit 201 (S33). Then, the control unit 21-1 moves the displayed pseudo image to follow the instruction of the operator (S34). At this time, if an instruction is additionally input within the specified time (“Yes” in S35, “Yes” in S36), the control unit 21-1 returns to step S34 and moves the pseudo image again. If the pseudo image data needs to be reselected due to the amount of movement, the process may return to step S32.

  After the specified time, the control unit 21-1 integrates the instruction information into one so that the actual driving of the electric stage 9 is minimized based on the instruction information input so far, and drives the integrated instruction. The unit 22 is notified (S37). That is, the control unit 21-1 notifies the drive unit 22 of the drive information so that the actual drive of the movement of the electric stage 9 can reach the target position by the shortest route. Here, as a method for integrating the instruction information into one, for example, the following method may be mentioned.

  For example, when the movement is instructed within a specified time and the coordinates are managed in absolute coordinates regarding the movement, the control unit 21-1 sets the absolute coordinates instructed last within the specified time. It may be instructed to move the electric stage 9.

  Further, for example, the coordinates set in the memory as the destination may be immediately overwritten on the last instructed coordinates, and the electric stage 9 may be controlled to move. Thereby, before the electric stage 9 completes driving, the electric stage 9 can be driven by overwriting the coordinates indicating the destination.

  Further, for example, the electric stage 9 may be moved to the coordinates when the user releases the operation unit such as a touch panel. Further, for example, the electric stage 9 may be moved at some timing such as moving the electric stage 9 when double-clicking.

Further, for example, the electric stage 9 may be moved by polling and updating the final arrival coordinates every certain time.
Further, for example, at the time of the first instruction, the electric stage 9 may be driven until the driving is completed, and the electric stage 9 may be moved to the last coordinate input until the driving is completed.

  Based on the instruction information notified by the control unit 21-1, the driving unit 22 starts driving the electric stage 9. If there is an operation instruction from the operator before the driving of the electric stage 9 is completed (“No” in S38, “Yes” in S39), the control unit 21-1 returns to step S34 and moves the pseudo image again. Let

  When the driving of the electric stage 9 is completed (“Yes” in S38), the control unit 21-1 updates the display image (S40). That is, the image displayed on the image display unit 201 is switched from the pseudo image to the real-time image data from the camera 16.

  As described above, when a plurality of driving instructions input within a specified time are given, the display system changes the display form of the pseudo image sequentially following the instructions, while the driving system changes the driving instruction to 1 The final indicated position can be reached with a minimum of driving.

  Note that an operation may be received during driving of the drive unit 22 to move the pseudo image and reset the drive coordinates. This operation may be accepted every time the operation is performed, or a drive instruction may be given with the drive received within a specified time as one time.

(Example 2)
Further, for example, when the third embodiment is applied to the first embodiment (Example 2), it is as follows. In other words, a pseudo image is displayed during switching of the visual field, and when a plurality of visual field switching instructions are given within a predetermined time, the pseudo image is enlarged or reduced following the operation instruction of the operator, and the visual field is changed. As for the actual driving for switching, the visual field is switched with minimum driving based on the instructed operation.

Note that. Since the configuration of the microscope system in the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment (Example 1), a description thereof will be omitted.
FIG. 14 shows (A) visual field switching instruction progress and (B) visual field switching actual driving in the third mode (Example 2). For example, the operator instructs the visual field switching within a specified time so that the observation visual field is switched in the order of A, B, and C. As shown in FIG. 14A, the pseudo image displayed on the image display unit 201 is displayed by sequentially switching the visual fields A, B, and C following the visual field switching instruction of the operator. However, for the actual drive of the visual field switching unit (for example, in the case of Example 2 of the first embodiment, the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30), those commands are combined into one, and from the visual field A to the visual field C. Try to switch directly. Thereby, since it does not switch to the visual field B, the drive of a visual field switching unit does not decelerate on the way. Further, when switching instructions are given in the order of the visual fields A, C, and B, regarding the actual driving of the visual field switching unit, those commands are combined into one, and the visual field A is directly switched to the visual field B. Further, in the case of an operation instruction to return the field of view by going too far like the fields of view A, B, C, B, the field of view is switched directly from the field of view A to the field of view B.

FIG. 15 shows a display image display control process flow accompanying the driving of the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 in the third mode for embodying the present invention (embodiment 2).
As in the first (Example 2), an operation instruction is received from the operator (S41). Then, as in the first embodiment (Example 2), the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21 stores or selects the pseudo image data (S42), and displays the pseudo image on the image display unit 201 (S42). S43). Then, the control unit 21-1 enlarges / reduces the displayed pseudo image following the operator's instruction (S44). At this time, if an instruction is additionally input within the specified time (“Yes” in S45, “Yes” in S46), the control unit 21-1 returns to step S44 and enlarges / reduces the pseudo image again. . If it is necessary to re-select the pseudo image data due to the change amount of the enlargement / reduction of the pseudo image, the process may return to step S42.

  After the specified time, the control unit 21-1 integrates the instruction information into one so that the actual driving of the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 is minimized from the instruction information input so far, and the integrated instruction. Is sent to the two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 29 (S47). In other words, the control unit 21-1 finally combines a plurality of operations into one operation so that unnecessary switching is not performed and the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 can be driven with the minimum switching operation. Based on the determined size of the pseudo image, the scanning width of the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 is calculated. Then, the control unit 21-1 notifies the two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 29 of drive information based on the calculated operation width. Here, as a method for integrating the instruction information into one, for example, the following method may be mentioned.

  For example, when switching instructions are given in order of the visual fields A, B, and C, the control unit 21-1 calculates a scanning width corresponding to the size of the pseudo image of the visual field C that is finally determined, and performs two-dimensional scanning. The drive control circuit 29 may be notified of drive information based on the calculated operation width.

  Based on the instruction information notified by the control unit 21-1, the two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 29 starts driving the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30. If there is an operation instruction from the operator before the driving of the two-dimensional scanning mechanism 30 is completed (“No” in S48, “Yes” in S49), the control unit 21-1 returns to Step S44 and again performs the pseudo image. Zoom in and out.

  When the field-of-view switching process is completed (“Yes” in S48), the control unit 21-1 updates the display image (S50). That is, the image on the image display unit 201 is switched from the pseudo image to the real-time image data from the camera 16.

  In this manner, a plurality of driving instructions input within a specified time can be combined into one. The operation may be accepted during driving, and the pseudo data may be moved and the driving coordinates may be reset. This operation may be accepted every time the operation is performed, or a drive instruction may be given with the drive received within a specified time as one time.

  According to the present embodiment, the operator can finely adjust the target position with a good feeling of operation while viewing the display screen without worrying about unnecessary movement of the microscope system due to excessive instructions. In addition, useless driving of the microscope system is eliminated, and the time until the driving is completed can be shortened.

<Fourth Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, a microscope system that performs the processes of the first to third embodiments using a pseudo image associated with the magnification of the objective lens and the XY coordinates of the electric stage will be described. Note that the configuration of the microscope system in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and is omitted.

  FIG. 16 shows a pseudo image management table 40 for managing a pseudo image associated with the XY coordinates of the electric stage 9 and the magnification of the objective lens 8 in the fourth embodiment. The pseudo image management table 40 is stored in the data storage unit 23.

  The pseudo image management table 40 identifies a pseudo image associated with a combination of coordinates (X coordinate, Y coordinate) and magnification (5 times, 10 times, 20 times, 50 times, 100 times,...). Image identification information is stored. For example, when the XY coordinate of the motorized stage 9 is (1024, 0) and the magnification of the objective lens is 20 times, the pseudo image identification information is “data 202”. The pseudo image corresponding to the pseudo image identification information is stored in the data storage unit 23.

  FIG. 17 shows a display control processing flow of a display image accompanying the movement of the electric stage 9 in the fourth embodiment. In the flow of FIG. 17, the process of S2 in FIG. 6 is replaced with the processes of S51 and S52, and S53 and S54 are added after the process of S7.

  Similar to the first embodiment (FIG. 6), the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21 receives the operation instruction (S <b> 1) and acquires the current XY coordinates from the electric stage 9. Further, the control unit 21-1 acquires objective lens identification information for identifying the currently selected objective lens 8 from the sensor 7-2. Here, the data storage unit 23 stores magnification information corresponding to each objective lens identification information. The control unit 21-1 acquires magnification information corresponding to the acquired objective lens identification information from the data storage unit 23 (S51).

  The control unit 21-1 acquires pseudo image identification information corresponding to the acquired combination of XY coordinates and magnification information from the pseudo image management table 40. The control unit 21-1 acquires the pseudo image data corresponding to the acquired pseudo image identification information from the data storage unit 23 (S52). In the subsequent processing, the processing of S3 to S7 is performed as in the flow of FIG.

  When the driving of the electric stage 9 is completed (“Yes” in S6), the control unit 21-1 updates the image displayed on the image display unit 201 (S7). That is, as shown in the display state 603, the image displayed on the image display unit 201 is switched from the pseudo image 620 to real-time image data from the camera 16.

  Then, the image used for the update is stored as a pseudo image in the data storage unit 23, and the image identification information of the image used for the update is the XY coordinates and magnification information when the image used for the update is acquired. In association therewith, it is stored in the pseudo image management table 40 (S53).

The flow is repeated until the operation ends (“No” in S54). By repeating this flow, the amount of information in the pseudo image management table 40 also increases.
This embodiment can also be applied to the first embodiment (example 2), the second embodiment, and the third embodiment. When this embodiment is applied to the first embodiment (Example 2), the processing of S12 in FIG. 10 is replaced with the processing of S51 and S52, and the processing of S53 and S54 is added after the processing of S17. When this embodiment is applied to the second embodiment, the processing of S24 in FIG. 11 is replaced with the processing of S51 and S52, and the processing of S53 and S54 is added after the processing of S29. When this embodiment is applied to the third embodiment, the processing of S32 in FIG. 14 or S42 of FIG. 15 is replaced with the processing of S51 and S52, and the processing of S53 and S54 is added after the processing of S40 or S50. To do.

  In FIG. 16, the pseudo image management table 40 is a table related to coordinates and magnification, or the conditions for this association are not limited to this, and even if only one piece of data at the time of the previous operation completion is always saved. Good.

  The timing of storing data may be at the time of an operation instruction as in the first to third embodiments, but if the operation is completed as in the fourth embodiment, the pseudo data storage time is required at the start of the operation. Therefore, the time until the display of the pseudo image data can be shortened.

  According to the fourth embodiment, by acquiring and storing pseudo image data, it is not necessary to store data at the time of an operation instruction, so that switching to a pseudo image can be performed quickly and time can be reduced. Moreover, by storing the pseudo image data as a dedicated image, the image can be lighter than the image for observation, the load on the computer 21 can be reduced, and the movement of the image data can be smoothly performed, so that the operational feeling is further improved. Further, an optimum pseudo image corresponding to the coordinates of the stage and the magnification of the observation field can be used.

  In the fourth embodiment, conditions for timing for saving the pseudo image data managed by the pseudo image management table 40 of FIG. 16 may be set. For example, when an in-focus state such as an autofocus function can be detected, the pseudo-image management table 40 is updated from the autofocus state to the latest state after the drive instruction when the focusing unit is not moved. You may save it.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, since the pseudo image data is dedicated to the pseudo image display, it may be stored that has a reduced resolution and lighter data than an image displayed in real time. As a result, the storage time can be shortened, and the amount of data is small even when the displayed pseudo image is moved. Therefore, the load on the control unit 21-1 of the computer 21 can be reduced, and an earlier simulation can be performed according to the operation instruction. Images can be moved.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the pseudo image data is displayed with a restriction that the pseudo image data cannot be moved within a certain range, that is, the instructions from the operation areas 202 and 203 are not accepted. Also good. For example, the range of movement limitation is the position where the electric stage 9 is not outside the driving range, the position where the revolver 7 holding the objective lens 8 returns to the original visual field after one rotation, and the visual field before the electric stage 9 is moved. A position that does not fall outside the range of the display unit 201 may be used. As a result, it is possible to prevent the actual operation and the operation on the pseudo image from being too far apart.

  In addition, in the first to fourth embodiments, the timing at which the pseudo image data is updated to the image data captured in real time is not limited to the completion of driving. If there is no instruction, it may be possible to set an update, an update every specified time, and the like.

  As described above, according to the invention of this embodiment, even when there is a time difference between the instruction from the operator and the actual drive system, it is possible to grasp the destination of completion of driving at the time of operation. In addition to the improvement, it is possible to shorten the time required for an additional operation instruction for fine adjustment to the target position.

  FIG. 18 is a configuration block diagram of a hardware environment of the computer 21 in the first to fourth embodiments. The computer 21 includes a CPU 52, a ROM 53, a RAM 56, a communication I / F 54, a storage device 57, an output I / F 51, an input I / F 55, a reading device 58, a bus 59, an output device 61, and an input device 62.

  Here, CPU indicates a central processing unit. The CPU corresponds to the control unit 21-1 of the above embodiment. ROM indicates a read-only memory. RAM indicates random access memory. I / F indicates a communication interface.

  A CPU 52, ROM 53, RAM 56, communication I / F 54, storage device 57, output I / F 51, input I / F 55, and reading device 58 are connected to the bus 59. The reading device 58 is a device that reads a portable recording medium. The output device 61 is connected to the output I / F 51. The input device 62 is connected to the input I / F 55.

  As the storage device 57, various types of storage devices such as a hard disk, a flash memory, and a magnetic disk can be used. The storage device 57 or the ROM 53 stores the above-described flow program, pseudo image, and pseudo image management table 40 described above.

  The program of the flow described above may be stored, for example, in the storage device 57 via the communication network 60 and the communication I / F 54 from the program provider side. In addition, this program may be stored in a portable storage medium that is commercially available and distributed. In this case, the portable storage medium may be set in the reading device 58 and the program read by the CPU 52 and executed. Various types of storage media such as CD-ROMs, flexible disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, IC cards, USB memory devices can be used as portable storage media, and programs stored in such storage media can be used. It is read by the reading device 58.

  As the input device 62, a keyboard, a mouse, an electronic camera, a web camera, a microphone, a scanner, a sensor, a tablet, or the like can be used. The output device 61 can be a display, a printer, a speaker, or the like. The network 60 may be a communication network such as the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, a dedicated line, a wired line, and a wireless line.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various configurations or embodiments can be taken without departing from the gist of the present invention. Two or more of the above embodiments may be combined.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light for epi-illumination 2 Illumination system lens 3 Aperture stop 4 Field stop 5 Observation method switching unit 6 Half mirror 7 Revolver 7-1 Motor 7-2 Sensor 8 Objective lens 9 Electric stage 9-1 Motor 10 Sample 11 Imaging lens 12 Optical path switching unit 13 Mirror 14 Lens binocular unit 15 Eye point 16 Camera 17 Image sensor 18 Monitor 19 Control circuit 20 Operation unit 21 Computer 21-1 Control unit 22 Drive unit 23 Data storage unit 24 Laser light source 25 Photo detector 26 Mirror 27 Half mirror 28 Lens 29 Two-dimensional scanning drive control circuit 30 Two-dimensional scanning mechanism

Claims (11)

A microscope control apparatus that controls a microscope system that displays a microscope image captured by an imaging unit via a microscope for observing a sample on a display unit,
An instruction input unit for inputting instruction information for operating the microscope system;
An electric part that is a component of the microscope system and drives the microscope system;
When the instruction information is input from the instruction input unit, control is performed to drive the electric unit according to the instruction information, and a predetermined image is displayed on the display unit until the driving of the electric unit is completed. Control to display, change the display mode of the predetermined image following the instruction indicated by the instruction information, and display the microscope image captured in real time by the imaging unit on the display unit after the driving of the electric unit is completed And
A microscope control apparatus comprising: The electric part is an electric stage on which the sample is placed and moves at least in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction relative to the microscope,
When the instruction information is an instruction to move the stage in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, the control unit moves the display position of the predetermined image following the instruction. The microscope control apparatus according to claim 1. When the instruction information is an instruction to change the observation field of the microscope image displayed on the display unit, the control unit changes the size of the predetermined image following the instruction. The microscope control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. When the instruction information is input from the instruction input unit, the control unit performs control to drive the electric unit according to the instruction information according to a driving state of the electric unit, and Until the driving is completed, a predetermined image is displayed on the display unit, the display mode of the predetermined image is changed following the instruction indicated by the instruction information, and after the driving of the electric unit is completed, the imaging unit The microscope control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a microscope image captured in real time is displayed on the display unit. The electric part is an electric stage on which the sample is placed and moves relative to the microscope at least in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, and the instruction information is input by the instruction input part. In the situation
When the imaging speed of the imaging unit per unit time is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold, or when the movement speed of the electric stage is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold, or when the movement time of the electric stage is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, The microscope control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit performs control to drive the electric unit according to the instruction information. When the instruction information is continuously input a plurality of times within a predetermined time, the control unit changes the display mode of the predetermined image following each instruction, and is the target of the instruction The microscope control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the motor unit is controlled to perform a minimum drive. The electric part is an electric stage on which the sample is placed and moves at least in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction relative to the microscope,
When an instruction to move the electric stage in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction is input a plurality of times within a predetermined time, the control unit follows the instructions and follows the predetermined image. The microscope control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control is performed so that the movement of the electric stage is minimized. When the instruction information for changing the observation visual field of the microscope image displayed on the display unit is continuously input a plurality of times within a predetermined time, the control unit follows the operation instructions and follows the operation instructions. The microscope control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the size of a predetermined image is changed, and control is performed so that driving of the visual field switching is minimized. The microscope system further includes:
9. The storage device according to claim 1, further comprising: a storage unit that stores the predetermined image and at least one of the stage coordinates and the magnification of the observation field of view. The microscope control apparatus described in 1.   A microscope system comprising the microscope control device according to claim 1. A control method of a microscope control apparatus for controlling a microscope system that displays a microscope image captured by an imaging unit via a microscope for observing a sample on a display unit,
When the instruction information is input from an instruction input unit that inputs instruction information for operating the microscope system, an electric unit that is a component of the microscope system and drives the microscope system according to the instruction information Until the driving of the electric part is completed, the predetermined image is displayed on the display unit, the display mode of the predetermined image is changed following the instruction indicated by the instruction information, A microscope control apparatus control method, comprising: displaying a microscope image captured in real time by the imaging unit on the display unit after driving of the electric unit is completed.