JP3377548B2 - Microscope image observation system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system mainly used for microscopic observation of medical / biological systems, and in particular, microscopic image observation for performing remote pathological diagnosis such as observation in the field of pathology, telepathology and teleconsultation. Regarding the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the medical field and the like, pathological diagnosis using a microscope has been regarded as an essential diagnostic item, and a technique relating to a microscope image observation system for observing a cytological specimen has also been proposed. In this system, after designating the area to be observed by the high-magnification lens on the whole image of the specimen captured by the low-magnification objective lens, the image of that area is magnified and captured, leaving the observation process structurally. The feature is that the amount of data can be minimized as well as being possible. The whole image of the specimen is called a parent image, and the high-magnification image is called a child image.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned system, since it is assumed that the sample has a size that fits the entire image of one sample, it is used for microscopic observation of a larger sample. I couldn't.

Further, when observing in stages from the parent image to the child image, since it is necessary to perform the observation while gradually increasing the magnification, the difference in magnification between the parent image and the child image may be small. This is a prerequisite, and it is difficult to specify a child image when the difference in magnification is large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to capture an image of a sample that does not fit into the entire image of one sample and to magnify the parent image and the child image. Importing images even if the difference is large
It is an object of the present invention to provide a microscope image observation system that enables easy display and further enables observation of a cytological specimen with high efficiency.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, in the microscope image observation system of the present invention, a low magnification of a specimen is used.
The parent image that is the rate image and the above with a higher magnification than this parent image.
A requesting terminal that captures and transmits a child image obtained by enlarging a part of the parent image, a function that receives and displays the parent image and the child image, and the acquisition position and the acquisition position of the child image with respect to the parent image.
An observation-side terminal having a function of designating a gain ratio, and a communication control unit for connecting the request-side terminal and the observation-side terminal, and a microscope image is displayed by a parent-child relationship between the parent image and the child image. in microscopic image observation system for managing, on
The requesting terminal has at least two parts of the sample in at least two locations.
A low-magnification image is taken and the above observation side edge is used as multiple parent images.
At the end, the observing side terminal receives the plurality of parent images received.
Is equipped with switching means for switching and displaying
Acquisition position and acquisition of child image for parent image
The feature is that the magnification is specified . Also,
In the microscope image observation system of the present invention, the control unit is
If the magnification difference between the captured parent and child images is large,
Specify the position where the image should be captured by marking, and
Capture multiple child images for a given position and
Characterized by managing tree by tree structure diagram and making comparison possible
And

[0007]

[Action] That is, the microscopic image observation system of the present invention, Yi
Depending on the relying terminal, at least two or more parts of the specimen
A low-magnification image was taken and multiple observations were made on the observation side.
It is sent to the terminal, and at the observation side terminal, by the switching means
Multiple received parent images are switched and displayed, and
The acquisition position and the acquisition position of the child image for the parent image
The acquisition rate is specified . In addition, the microscope image view of the present invention
The inspection system uses the controller to capture the parent image and child
Position where the image should be captured when the difference in magnification of the image is large
Is specified by marking, and for the specified position
Multiple child images are imported and they are displayed in the tree structure diagram.
Managed and compared freely.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a microscope image observation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1A, in the microscope image observation system according to the present embodiment, a request-side terminal 100 that actually operates a microscope to capture an image, and the request-side terminal 10
An observation side terminal 101 for observing a desired microscope image based on image data transmitted from 0 through the communication line 11.
It consists of and. The request-side terminal 100 is composed of a personal computer section 12, a microscope section 13 and a telephone 10, and the observation side terminal 101 is composed of a personal computer section 12 'and a telephone 10'.

Further, the request-side terminal 100 has a structure shown in detail in FIG. 1 (b). That is, the personal computer section 12 is composed of a personal computer 1 for controlling the whole, a CRT display 2, a mouse 3 as a pointing device, a keyboard 4 as an input device, a frame memory 5, and a TV monitor 6.

The microscope section 13 is composed of a camera control unit (CCU) 7, a microscope 8, a TV camera 9 and a macro image capturing device 16. Further, the telephone 10 is capable of conversation without having a receiver, and is connected to the telephone 10 'of the observation side terminal 101 via the communication line 11.
The personal computer section 12 'of the observation side terminal 101
Has the same configuration as the personal computer section 12 in the request-side terminal 100, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

In such a configuration, the microscope 8 in the request-side terminal 100 is controlled by the personal computer 1, and the movement of the stage 15 in the x, y, z directions is instructed. The objective lens 14 is also controlled in the same manner, and the lens is changed according to the designation when capturing the image. However, this may be manual. Then, the image data is taken in by the camera 9 attached to the microscope 8 and compressed when recorded as a file. Further, during remote observation of a microscope image, the image data captured by the camera 9 is transferred to the observation side terminal 101 via the communication line 11. In this embodiment, the macro image is captured by the dedicated macro image capturing device 16. Then, when the macro image is captured, the coordinates of the captured portion of the slide glass are shown, and the values are corrected so that the contrast with the stage coordinates can be obtained on the microscope.

Here, in the conventional system, the macro image is 32 mm × with a cover glass on the slide glass.
Although the area of 24 mm was targeted, when the sample was spread over the entire slide glass, the whole image could not be captured with one macro image. Therefore,
In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, 32 mm × 24 mm
It is decided to capture the entire image of the sample 20 by the two macro images 21 and 22 of. When actually capturing the child image, the position of the image to be captured may be designated from either of the two macro images. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG.
Image capturing and observation operations of the microscope image observation system according to the first embodiment will be described.

In step S101, the input device 4 or the mouse 3 is operated to input information regarding the number of macro images into the personal computer 1. For example, in the case of the one that spreads over the entire slide glass as shown in FIG.
I need one. Considering the size and aspect ratio of this slide glass, it is considered that it is not normally necessary to have three or more macro images.

Then, in the loop of step S102,
The sample is transferred to and installed in the macro image capturing device 16, and the designated number of macro images are captured. That is, after capturing the macro image in step S103, the data is compressed and the correction value is input in step S104. This correction value is a value for correcting the deviation between the coordinates on the stage 15 of the microscope 8 and the coordinates at the time of capturing macro coordinates. Next, in step S105, the sample is transferred from the macro image capturing device 16 to the stage 15 of the microscope 8.

Then, in the loop of step S106, the microscope image is actually observed. During this observation, step S1
As shown in the selection of 07, "macro switch",
Functions such as "child image display", "child image capture", "parent image display", and "end" can be selected.
It is needless to say that this function is not limited to this and can be added or changed.

When " macro switch " is selected from the above, it is possible to switch to a desired macro image in step S108. This is done by selecting the displays 23 and 24 shown in FIG. 5 with the mouse 3. For example, as shown in the tree structure diagram of FIG. 3, when there are two macro images, when the macro image 1 or its child images 1 and 2 are already displayed on the screen, the display 2
When 4 is clicked with the mouse 3, the macro image 2 is displayed.

When the "child image loading process" is selected, the child image of the image being displayed can be selected and displayed in step S109. For example, when the macro image 2 in FIG. 3 is displayed, the child images 3, 4, and 5 are selected. Further, when the "child image capturing process" is selected, a child image having the image being displayed as a parent image can be captured in step S110.

Further, when the "parent image loading process" is selected, the parent image of the image being displayed can be displayed in step S111. For example, the parent image of the child image 5-1 in FIG. 3 is the child image 5, and the parent image of the child image 5 is the parent image 2. Thus, if the end is selected in step S107, the loop is exited, and all the operations are ended in step S112. As described above, in the microscope image observation system according to the first embodiment, it is possible to capture the entire image of the sample that spreads over the entire slide glass. Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the past, image quality was also important for macro images, but in cytodiagnosis, image quality is not so problematic because it only has to be useful for location.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, in the area 27 for capturing the image shown in FIG. 6, the area of the portion 26 of the slide glass 25 covered by the cover glass is captured as a single image to form a macro image. I decided.
Since this image has a small actual size per pixel and has many parts other than the sample, it is wasteful and the image quality is not good.
There is an advantage that only one macro image is required as compared with the above embodiment. Note that the macro image at this time is called a wide-angle macro image in contrast to a normal macro image. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 7, an image capturing and observing operation of the microscope image observing system according to the second embodiment will be described.

In step S201, it is selected whether the type of macro image is a normal macro image or a wide-angle macro image. Then, in step S202, the actually selected macro image is captured and the data is compressed. Further, in step S203, the correction value is input. This correction value is a value for correcting the deviation between the coordinates on the stage 15 of the microscope 8 and the coordinates at the time of capturing macro coordinates.
Then, in step S204, the sample is transferred from the macro image capturing device 16 onto the stage 15 of the microscope 8.

Then, in the loop of step S205,
Actually observe the microscope image. During this observation, step S
As shown in the selection of 206, "macro switch",
Functions such as "child image display", "child image capture", "parent image display", and "end" can be selected.

For example, if " macro switching " is selected, the desired macro image can be switched in step S207. This is display 2 shown in FIG.
This is done by selecting 3, 24 with the mouse 3. For example, as shown in the tree structure diagram of FIG. 3, when there are two macro images, when the macro image 1 or its child images 1 and 2 are already displayed on the screen, the display 24 is clicked by the mouse 3. , The macro image 2 will be displayed.

When the "child image loading process" is selected, the child image of the image being displayed can be selected and displayed in step S208. For example, when the macro image 2 in FIG. 3 is displayed, the child images 3, 4, and 5 are selected. Further, when the "child image import process" is selected, a child image whose parent image is the image currently displayed in step S209 can be imported.

When the "parent image loading process" is selected, the parent image of the image being displayed can be displayed in step S210. For example, the parent image of the child image 5-1 in FIG. 3 is the child image 5, and the parent image of the child image 5 is the parent image 2. Thus, if the end is selected in step S206, the loop is exited, and all the operations are ended in step S211. As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to capture the entire large sample while leaving the first parent image as one. Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Generally, when handling a cytological specimen, another microscope is used to mark the slide glass in advance. Then, in normal microscope observation, the same place is reviewed by relying on this mark.

In the third embodiment, the child image is captured from the macro image by designating the marked points on the macro image. However, in the cytodiagnosis, the objective lens 14 having a high magnification of 40 times is used when capturing this image.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the rectangle indicating the size of the child image is displayed on the macro image, the parent image 2
It is good if there is not much difference in magnification from 8 (rectangle 29),
When the difference in magnification is large, the rectangle indicating the size of the child image becomes small and difficult to see (rectangle 30). In order to solve this problem, the marking position is designated by the crosshair pointer 31, as shown in FIG.

The child image capturing process of the microscope image observation system according to the third embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. It should be noted that this processing is performed in step S1 of FIG.
This corresponds to the process of 10.

First, in step S301, the crosshair pointer 31 is moved by operating the mouse 3 to specify the capture position. Succeedingly, in a step S302, the coordinates of the stage 15 of the microscope 8 are calculated from the coordinates on the designated image. Then, in step S303, the stage 15 of the microscope 8 is moved to the coordinates (x, y) calculated by this calculation. Further, step S3
In 04, the focus / aperture of the microscope 8 is adjusted, in step S305, the image is captured and the data is compressed.
In this way, all processing is completed. As explained above,
According to the third embodiment, the position designation of the child image when the difference in magnification between the parent image and the child image is large is easy to see and easy. Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the third embodiment, the position of the child image can be specified when the magnification difference between the parent image and the child image is large, but the child image taken in here is only a few pixels on the parent image. It is difficult to specify an accurate capture position because it is not available.
Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, it is possible to enlarge the parent image and specify the child image in order to improve the accuracy of the position designation.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 11, a process of capturing a child image of the microscope image observation system according to the fourth embodiment will be described. This corresponds to the process of step S110 in FIG.

First, in step S401, the enlargement ratio is input by operating the mouse 3 or the like. Then, step S
In 402, the area to be enlarged is designated. This is designated by moving the rectangle 34 of the size to be enlarged and displayed with the mouse 3 as shown in FIG. 12 and clicking at the position to be enlarged. Once the area to be enlarged is determined, step S
At 403, the area is enlarged and displayed. Then, in step S404, the child image is captured on the enlarged and displayed parent image. Incidentally, the processing of this step S404 is
FIG. 1 showing the child image capturing process of the above-described third embodiment.
It is similar to that of the flowchart of 0. That is, the image capturing position is designated by the pointer 35 on the enlarged display image 33. As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the coordinate designation of the child image becomes more accurate. next,
A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 13, the above-mentioned third and fourth
In this embodiment, one image 4 for one attention spot 36
Only 0 was captured. However, there are cases where it is desired to capture a plurality of images 37 to 40 by changing the focus or moving the stage a little with respect to this one point of interest 36. The fifth embodiment is intended to capture a plurality of images with one child image designation.

The process of capturing a child image of the microscope image observation system according to the fifth embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. This corresponds to the process of step S110 in FIG.

First, in step S501, the mouse 3 is used to move the crosshair pointer to specify the capture position. Succeedingly, in a step S502, coordinates of the stage 15 of the microscope 8 are calculated from the coordinates on the designated image. Then, in step S503, the stage 15 of the microscope 8 is moved to the coordinates (x, y) calculated by this calculation. Then, in the loop of step S504, a required number of child images are captured.

That is, in step S505, the stage is finely adjusted so that the capture target is located at the center of the image. Then, in step S506, the focus and aperture are adjusted. When the image to be captured is confirmed by this operation, the image is captured and the data is compressed in step S507. In this way, in step S508, it is selected whether or not to end the capture, and if it is completed (YES), the process exits from the loop and the capture process ends.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, it is possible to capture a plurality of images with one designation.
Furthermore, since a number of images can be captured for one target location, the accuracy of observation can be improved by comparing the images. Next, a sixth embodiment will be described.

The above-mentioned third to fifth embodiments are improvement examples of capturing a child image in the case where there is a difference in magnification between the parent image and the child image. The operation of calling an image is complicated. Because,
In the conventional method of displaying the rectangle of the child image as shown in,
The location of the child image you want to see is unclear. Therefore, in the sixth embodiment, a display and reproduction method in the case where there is a large difference in magnification between a macro image and its child images centering on cytodiagnosis will be described. FIG. 15 is a map of the image distribution displayed on the CRT display 2.

The map display shown in FIG. 15A shows how many child images are present in which part on the macro image. In the figure, a block-divided portion 42 shows a macro image. Then, each block-divided area is color-coded according to the number of child images in the area.
An explanation of this color coding is shown by display 43.

Then, mouse pointing 4 is applied to each area.
When 4 is moved and clicked, a list 45 of images in the area is displayed. Then, from this list, it is possible to specify an image to be further viewed. For example, in the above-described first embodiment, since there are two macro images, the display 46 is displayed beside the map so that the display of the two macro images can be switched. Note that FIG. 15B is an example in which two macro images are simultaneously displayed on the map.
(C) is a map display of only the sample portion of the macro image of the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, the sixth
The child image capturing process and the child image loading process of the microscope image observation system according to the embodiment will be described. this is,
This corresponds to the processing of steps S109 and S110 in FIG.

First, in step S601 of FIG. 16, a child image capturing process is performed. This is the same as the capture processing of the third to fifth embodiments described above. Succeedingly, in a step S602, a child image number is input to a table indicating which child image is included in each area of block division. As a result, the coordinates of each block obtained by dividing the macro image are compared with the coordinates on the macro image when the capture is designated in step S601 to determine which block the image is. On the other hand, the display of the child image is selected and performed by the following method.

First, in step S701 of FIG.
Click on the map of 5 with the mouse 3. Then, in step S702, it is checked whether or not a small image exists in the clicked block, and the image list in that block is displayed. At this time, the table in which the image number is input is referred to in step S602. Then, in step S703, an image is selected from the list. And
In step S704, the selected image is reproduced / displayed.

As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, it becomes easy to specify a child image to be reproduced. Furthermore, the distribution of problematic cells on the sample and the distribution of the captured image can be seen at a glance.

As described above in detail, in the microscope image observation system of the present invention, when the magnification difference between the macro image captured by the macro image capturing device 16 by the personal computer 1 and the microscope image captured by the microscope 8 is large. However, it is possible to capture the entire image of the sample that spreads over the entire slide glass, and it is also possible to easily specify an image during reproduction.

[0047]

According to the present invention, it is possible to capture an image of a sample that occupies the entire slide glass that does not fit into the entire image of one sample, and when the magnification difference between the parent image and the child image is large. However, it is possible to provide a microscope image observation system capable of easily capturing and displaying an image and further observing a cytological specimen with high efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are block diagrams showing the configuration of a microscope image observation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state of two macro images that capture an overall image of a sample.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a tree structure diagram.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining image capturing and observation operations of the microscope image observation system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display for switching macro images.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a region of the slide glass covered with a cover glass is captured as a single image and used as a macro image.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining image capturing and observation operations of the microscope image observation system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing how a rectangle indicating the size of a child image is displayed on a macro image.

FIG. 9: Crosshair pointer 3 for designating a marking position
It is a figure which shows 1.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a child image capturing process of the microscope image observation system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining processing of capturing a child image of the microscope image observation system according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state in which a rectangle having a size to be enlarged and displayed is designated.

[Fig. 13] Changing the focus for one point of interest,
It is a figure which shows a mode that the stage was moved a little and several images were captured.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining processing of capturing a child image of the microscope image observation system according to the fifth embodiment.

15A to 15C are diagrams showing maps of image distribution displayed on the personal computer monitor 2.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a child image capturing process of the microscope image observation system according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining child image loading processing of the microscope image observation system according to the sixth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Personal computer, 2 ... CRT display, 3 ... Mouse, 4 ... Keyboard, 5 ... Frame memory, 6 ... TV monitor, 7 ... Camera control unit, 8 ... Microscope, 9 ... TV camera, 10, 11 '... Telephone, 11 ... communication line, 12, 12 '... personal computer section, 13
… Microscope part, 14… Objective lens, 15… Stage, 16
… Macro image capture device.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Yasunari Dobashi 2-3 Saga Asahi-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture No. 622 Arashiyama Grand City (56) Reference JP-A-4-194905 (JP, A) JP-A 6-75173 (JP, A) JP-A-6-51209 (JP, A) JP-A-5-111029 (JP, A) JP-A-8-327907 (JP, A) JP-A-6-275226 (JP, A) A) JP-A-6-222281 (JP, A) JP-A-6-109980 (JP, A) JP-A-6-3600 (JP, A) JP-A-5-127087 (JP, A) JP-A-64 -20449 (JP, A) JP-A-61-156214 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 21/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A parent image, which is a low-magnification image of a specimen, and the parent image
Child image with a portion of the parent image magnified at a higher magnification than the parent image
A requesting side terminal that transmits capture an image, functions and the receiving and displaying said master image and said child image
Specify the acquisition position and acquisition magnification of the above child image with respect to the parent image
An observation side terminal having a function to perform, and a communication control unit for connecting the request side terminal and the observation side terminal, and a microscope image for managing a microscope image by a parent-child relationship between the parent image and the child image. In the observation system, the requesting terminal has at least two parts of the sample
Take a low-magnification image with multiple parent images
To the terminal, and the viewing side terminal switches the received multiple parent images.
Equipped with a switching means for displaying,
Specify the acquisition position and acquisition ratio of the child image for the parent image
A microscope image observation system characterized by being performed . 2. The control unit includes a captured parent image and a child image.
Position where the image should be captured when the difference in magnification of the image is large
Is specified by marking, and duplicated at the specified position.
Take a number of child images and manage them by tree structure diagram
The microscope according to claim 1, characterized in that it can be processed and compared freely.
Microscopic image observation system.