JP5537320B2 - Microscope system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a microscope system.

  Conventionally, there has been known a control device that controls the driving speed of an electric stage for a microscope in accordance with switching of the magnification of an objective lens (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The control device for the electric stage for a microscope described in Patent Document 1 reduces the driving speed of the electric stage when the objective lens is switched to one with a large magnification, while the electric stage when the objective lens is switched to a one with a low magnification. Therefore, even if the motorized stage is driven when the objective lens is switched, the moving speed of the observation object on the motorized stage displayed on the monitor is kept constant, which hinders observation of the specimen. Is to prevent the occurrence of

JP-A-8-86965

  However, in recent years, observation using a microscope has been mainly performed using a digital camera rather than using an eyepiece. When observing with a microscope using a digital camera, display can be performed by changing the image display magnification on the software through image processing such as digital zoom, or by changing the digital camera connected to the microscope to another digital camera with a different field of view. Change the field of view of the image displayed on the screen. Image processing such as partial reading during live preview is also performed.

  In such a microscope using a digital camera, if the stage is driven when the observation magnification is changed by switching the objective lens or digital zoom, the movement speed of the specimen on the display will fluctuate abruptly, which hinders specimen observation. There is a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and realizes stable observation by reducing fluctuations in the movement speed of the specimen on the display unit even when the stage is driven when the observation magnification is changed. An object of the present invention is to provide a microscope system capable of

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means.
The present invention provides a stage on which a specimen is placed and movable in a direction intersecting the optical axis of illumination light irradiated on the specimen, and image acquisition for acquiring an image of the specimen irradiated with the illumination light A display unit that displays an image of the sample acquired by the image acquisition unit, and the image of the sample acquired at a time interval by the image acquisition unit on the image in the display unit A detection unit that detects movement speed information of the specimen, and the movement speed before changing the observation magnification detected by the detection section when the observation magnification of the specimen displayed on the display section is changed Based on the information and the moving speed information after changing the observation magnification, the moving speed of the sample on the display section before changing the observation magnification and the display section after changing the observation magnification Said specimen in As the moving speed becomes constant with respect to the visual field range of the image, to provide a microscope system comprising a stage control unit for controlling the movement speed of the stage.

  According to the present invention, when the sample image acquired by the image acquisition unit is displayed on the display unit, the sample moves on the image at a speed corresponding to the moving speed of the stage controlled by the stage control unit. In this case, if the stage is driven when the observation magnification is enlarged and the specimen is enlarged, the movement speed of the specimen on the image increases, and if the stage is driven when the observation magnification is reduced and the specimen is reduced and displayed, The moving speed of the specimen on the image is reduced.

  The stage controller controls the stage movement speed in association with the movement speed of the sample on the image based on the movement speed information of the specimen, so that the image can be displayed on the image by changing the observation magnification regardless of the magnification value of the observation magnification. The stage can be moved so as to reduce fluctuations in the moving speed of the sample. Therefore, even if the stage is driven when the observation magnification is changed, it is possible to prevent a rapid change in the moving speed of the specimen on the image and to realize a relatively stable observation.

Also, when you change the observation magnification of the specimen displayed on the display unit, it is possible to move the stage so that the moving speed of the specimen with respect to the viewing range of the image on the display unit does not change by the stage control unit, stable Observation can be realized.

In the above invention, the moving speed information of the sample may be a moving amount per unit time of the sample between a plurality of images of the sample.
With this configuration, the stage moving speed can be easily associated with the moving speed of the specimen on the image, and the fluctuation of the moving speed of the specimen on the image due to the change of the observation magnification is reduced. Can be easily controlled.

  In the above invention, the moving speed information of the sample is a moving amount per unit time of the sample calculated from a correlation image obtained by synthesizing a plurality of images of the sample acquired at time intervals. It is good.

  By configuring in this way, for example, the amount of positional deviation between two images whose acquisition time by the image acquisition unit fluctuates is obtained from the peak position of the luminance in the correlation image, and both the difference between the acquisition times of the two images based on the peak position are obtained. If the amount of image displacement is calculated, the amount of movement of the sample per unit time can be detected. Therefore, when the observation magnification is changed, the moving speed of the stage can be easily associated with the moving speed of the sample on the image.

The invention as a reference example of the present invention includes a field-of-view range setting unit that sets a field-of-view range of the sample image acquired by the image acquisition unit to be displayed on the display unit in the above configuration, and the stage control unit includes: The moving speed of the stage may be controlled so that the specimen moves within a specified time by a distance obtained by normalizing the size of the visual field range of the image set by the visual field range setting unit.

  When the visual field range of the image displayed on the display unit is limited to a part of the target range by the operation of the visual field range setting unit as in observation by partial reading, the moving speed of the sample with respect to the visual field range of the image increases. The stage controller controls the stage movement speed so that the specimen moves within the specified time over the distance normalized by the size of the field of view of the specimen image. Can be maintained.

Further, the invention as a reference example of the present invention includes a visual field range setting unit that sets a visual field range of the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to be displayed on the display unit in the above configuration, and the stage control unit includes: The moving speed of the stage is set so that the moving speed of the stage becomes slower as the ratio of the visual field range of the image set by the visual field range setting unit to the maximum imaging range of the image that can be acquired by the image acquiring unit becomes smaller. It is good also as controlling.

  With this configuration, when the visual field range of the image to be displayed on the display unit is reduced with respect to the maximum imaging range of the image that can be acquired by the image acquisition unit, the stage control unit can perform the specimen for the visual field range of the image. The stage can be moved so as to reduce fluctuations in the moving speed.

Further, the invention as a reference example of the present invention is the above configuration , wherein the stage control unit moves the stage so that the moving speed of the sample with respect to the visual field range of the image before and after the ratio changes is constant. The speed may be controlled.
With this configuration, even when the stage is driven when the field of view of the image displayed on the display unit is changed, the movement speed of the sample relative to the field of view of the image is prevented from changing, and stable observation is performed. Can be realized.

In the above invention, a stage driving unit that drives the stage, and a speed instruction unit that instructs the stage driving unit to move the stage may be provided.
With this configuration, the sample on the display unit can be moved at a speed corresponding to the moving speed of the stage instructed by the speed instruction unit. Therefore, if the speed instruction unit indicates the stage moving speed so that the moving speed of the specimen on the image becomes a desired speed, the stage control section changes the specimen on the image when the observation magnification is changed. The stage can be moved to reduce fluctuations in the desired moving speed.

  According to the present invention, even if the stage is driven when the observation magnification is changed, there is an effect that fluctuation of the moving speed of the sample on the display unit can be reduced and stable observation can be realized.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a microscope system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the imaging range of an imaging part. (A) shows the luminance value of each pixel of the image at an arbitrary time point when the electric stage is being driven, and (b) shows the luminance value of each pixel of the image after one or more frames have elapsed from the arbitrary time point. It is. It is a flowchart which shows the observation process by the microscope system of FIG. (A) shows an image having the entire maximum imaging range of the imaging unit as the visual field range, and (b) is a diagram showing a state in which the sample is enlarged and displayed without changing the visual field range of the image. (A) shows a state where a sample before enlarged display moves from the center to the end of the image, and (b) shows a state where the sample after enlarged display moves from the center to the end of the image. It is a figure which shows the process of detecting a correlation image by a phase only correlation method. (A) shows a registered image, (b) shows an input image, and (c) shows a correlation image. It is a schematic block diagram of the microscope system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the observation process by the microscope system of FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that a sample is enlargedly displayed with respect to the image which makes the whole largest image range of an imaging part the visual field range, and also a part of visual field range of an image is partially read. It is a figure which shows the state where the sample is located in the center of the image on a monitor. It is a figure which shows the state which the sample moved to the end of the image on a monitor. It is a flowchart which shows the observation process by the microscope system which concerns on the modification of each embodiment of this invention.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a microscope system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A microscope system 100 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, an upright microscope apparatus 10, an input unit 30 that inputs an instruction from a user to the microscope apparatus 10, and the microscope apparatus 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The monitor (display part) 40 which displays the acquired image etc., and the control part 50 which controls these microscope apparatuses 10, the input part 30, and the monitor 40 are provided.

  The microscope apparatus 10 includes an electric stage (stage) 11 on which a specimen (not shown) is placed, a light source 13 that emits illumination light, and a condenser 15 that collects the illumination light emitted from the light source 13 and irradiates the specimen. And an objective lens 16 that condenses the transmitted light from the sample irradiated with the illumination light, and an imaging unit (image acquisition unit) 18 that captures the transmitted light collected by the objective lens 16 and acquires an image of the sample. And. The objective lens 16 and the imaging unit 18 constitute an observation optical system 17.

  Further, the microscope apparatus 10 includes an XY handle 21 that manually moves the electric stage 11 in the XY axis direction (a direction that intersects the optical axis of illumination light applied to the specimen, that is, the horizontal direction), and a manual operation. A Z-axis focus handle 23 for moving the electric stage 11 in the Z-axis direction (a direction along the optical axis of illumination light applied to the specimen, that is, a vertical direction), and a pulse motor (stage driving unit) for driving the electric stage 11 25 and a motor controller (stage control unit) 27 that controls the operation of the pulse motor 25. Here, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are orthogonal to each other.

  The electric stage 11 has at least XY position coordinates. The electric stage 11 can be manually moved by the user by the XY handle 21 or the Z-axis focus handle 23, or can be electrically moved by the motor controller 27 to the XYZ coordinates designated by the user.

  The objective lens 16 is attached to the revolver 19 and is arranged to be switchable with other objective lenses having different magnification values. The objective lens 16 and the revolver 19 constitute a magnification changing unit 14 that changes the observation magnification of the specimen displayed on the monitor 40. As the objective lens 16, for example, a phase difference objective lens or a bright field objective lens can be adopted. When phase difference observation is performed with the phase difference objective lens, a phase plate is disposed on the optical path of the condenser 15, and when differential interference observation is performed with the bright field objective lens, a prism and an optical path are provided on the optical path of the condenser 15 and the revolver 19, respectively. A polarizing plate is arranged.

  As the imaging unit 18, for example, a known photodetector such as a CCD camera, a CMOS camera, a video camera, or a photomultiplier tube can be employed. In addition, the imaging unit 18 is arranged to be switchable with another imaging device having a different maximum imaging range of images that can be acquired.

  The input unit 30 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a joystick (not shown), and controls parameters input by the user. The parameters input to the input unit 30 are output to the monitor 40 and the microscope apparatus 10 via the control unit 50. The input unit 30 includes a drive instruction unit 31 that outputs a drive instruction for the electric stage 11.

  The drive instructing unit 31 is connected to, for example, a joystick, and outputs a drive instruction in which the direction in which the electric stage 11 moves is a direction pushed down by the user from a state where the joystick is upright.

The monitor 40 can display the parameter settings and changed values sent from the input unit 30, and can display the image acquired by the imaging unit 18.
The control unit 50 is, for example, a PC (personal computer) including a CPU (central processing unit). The control unit 50 includes a speed information detection unit (detection unit) 51 that detects movement speed information of the specimen on the image displayed on the monitor 40.

  The speed information detection unit 51 uses the amount of image movement (motion vector) per unit time of a sample between frames of a plurality of images acquired at time intervals by the imaging unit 18 as movement speed information of the sample on the image. In other words, the moving speed of the specimen on the image is detected. For example, a motion vector detection method based on block matching in which each pixel is compared in units of blocks between frames is adopted.

  Hereinafter, the motion vector detection method will be specifically described. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the imaging range of the imaging unit 18 is configured by a total of 81 [pixels] of 9 [pixels] in the X direction and 9 [pixels] in the Y direction. In addition, the imaging range of the imaging unit 18 on the monitor 40 is divided into 9 blocks (block A to block I) with a total of 9 [pixels] of 3 [pixels] in the X direction and 3 [pixels] in the Y direction as one block. .

  For example, each pixel of an image at an arbitrary time point during driving of the electric stage 11 has a luminance value as shown in FIG. 3A, and an image after one or more frames (t seconds) has elapsed from the arbitrary time point. Assume that each pixel has a luminance value as shown in FIG. On the monitor 40, the sample located in the block A at an arbitrary time has moved to the position of the block B after elapse of t seconds.

  Similarly, the sample located in the block B at an arbitrary time point is at the position of the block C, the sample located at the block D is at the position of the block E, and the sample located at the block E is the position of the block F. In addition, the sample located in the block G has moved to the position of the H block, and the sample located in the block H has moved to the position of the block I. That is, it can be seen that the entire specimen has moved 3 [pixels] in the right direction toward the paper surface. In FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the luminance value of each pixel is represented in decimal notation.

The speed information detection unit 51 uses such block matching, based on the specimen movement amount x _n [pixel] on the image at t time [sec], the specimen movement speed x _n / t [pixel] between frames. / Sec] is detected.

Further, the speed information detection unit 51 sets the moving speed V _n [mm / sec] of the electric stage 11 by the following formula (1) based on the moving speed x _n / t of the sample between frames.
V _n = V ′ × A × (t _n / x) (1)
Here, V ′: current moving speed of the electric stage 11 [mm / sec], A: target moving speed of the sample on the image [pixel / sec]
The target moving speed A of the sample on the image is a fixed value set in advance.

The motor controller 27 decreases the moving speed of the electric stage 11 when the moving speed of the sample on the image increases based on the moving speed x _n / t of the sample on the image detected by the speed information detection unit 51. The moving speed of the electric stage 11 is controlled so that the moving speed of the electric stage 11 increases as the moving speed of the specimen on the image decreases.

Specifically, the motor controller 27 calculates the pulse width T so that the speed of the electric stage 11 becomes the moving speed V _n set by the speed information detection unit 51, and the pulse width T of the pulse motor 25 is calculated. Control the operation. Thus, the speed of the electric stage 11 is controlled to the moving speed V _n according to the operation of the pulse motor 25.

The operation of the microscope system 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In order to observe a specimen with the microscope system 100 according to the present embodiment, first, the microscope apparatus 10 and the control unit 50 are turned on and activated (step SA1).

  When the specimen is placed on the electric stage 11 and illumination light is generated from the light source 13, the condenser 15 irradiates the specimen on the electric stage 11 with the illumination light. The transmitted light that has passed through the specimen when irradiated with illumination light is collected by the objective lens 16 and photographed by the imaging unit 18 via an imaging lens (not shown).

  In the imaging unit 18, an observation image of the specimen is formed and subjected to digital image processing. The observation image digitally processed by the imaging unit 18 is output to the control unit 50 as a digital signal and input to the monitor 40. As a result, the sample image is displayed on the monitor 40.

Startup of the microscope system 100, the velocity information detection unit 51, the initial value _{V 1} is set as the moving velocity _{V n} of the motorized stage 11 (step SA2). As the initial value V ₁ , for example, an arbitrary value suitable for the case where the objective lens 16 having a magnification (for example, 100 times) having the highest possibility of the highest magnification is used is used. The initial value V ₁ set by the speed information detector 51 is input to the motor controller 27, and the pulse width T is calculated so that the speed of the electric stage 11 becomes the initial value V ₁ .

  Next, when the driving instruction unit 31 inputs a driving instruction for the electric stage 11 from the user (“YES” in step SA3), the driving instruction is input to the motor controller 27 via the control unit 50. When a drive instruction is input to the motor controller 27, the operation of the pulse motor 25 is controlled based on the calculated pulse width T.

By the pulse motor 25 is operated, the moving direction designated by the user, i.e., the electric stage 11 moves at the speed of the initial value V ₁ in the direction of the driving instruction unit 31 is pushed down (step SA4). Thus, the sample is moved at the speed of the initial value V ₁ on the image on the monitor 40. In this case, the moving speed of the specimen on the image is x ₁ / t.

While the electric stage 11 is being driven, images acquired at one or more frame intervals by the imaging unit 18 are sequentially displayed on the monitor 40 and the pixel data is input to the speed information detection unit 51. In the speed information detection unit 51, the moving speed x _n / t (moving speed information) of the sample between frames of a plurality of images is detected by the above-described motion vector detection method (step SA5).

  In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the objective lens 16 is switched to another objective lens having a large magnification or digital zoom is performed on the image having the entire maximum imaging range of the imaging unit 18 as the visual field range. Increase the observation magnification. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, the sample (the object arranged at the center position of the image in FIG. 5) is enlarged and displayed without changing the visual field range of the image.

  When the electric stage 11 is driven when the sample is displayed in an enlarged manner, the amount of movement of the sample per unit time becomes larger than before the enlarged display. For example, the amount of movement of the sample on the image at time t is 1 [pixel] before the sample is magnified, whereas the amount of movement of the sample on the image at time t after the sample is magnified is displayed. Is changed to 2 [pixel].

In this case, the speed information detector 51 detects a moving speed x ₂ / t that is twice as large as the moving speed x ₁ / t of the specimen before the enlarged display. Further, the speed information detection unit 51, by the equation (1), the moving speed V ₂ of half the magnitude of the moving speed V ₁ of the immediately preceding motorized stage 11 is newly set.

Moving speed V ₂ of the motorized stage 11 which is set by the speed information detecting unit 51 is inputted to the motor controller 27, the operation of the pulse motor 25 is controlled such that the speed of the motorized stage 11 is the moving speed V ₂ (step SA6). By decelerating the speed of the electric stage 11 in the moving speed V _2, the speed of the zoomed-in sample on the monitor 40 is maintained to the moving speed x _{1 /} t.

  Thereby, the moving speed of the sample before the enlarged display and the moving speed of the sample after the enlarged display can be kept constant. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the time taken for the specimen before the enlarged display to move from the center to the end of the image and the specimen after the enlarged display as shown in FIG. 6B from the center of the image. The time taken to move to the end can be matched.

  Subsequently, if there is no instruction to drive the electric stage 11 from the user (step SA3 “NO”), the user determines whether to continue or end the observation (step SA7). When the observation is continued (step SA7 “NO”), the process returns to step SA3. On the other hand, when ending the observation (step SA7 “YES”), the microscope apparatus 10 and the controller 50 are turned off (step SA8), and the observation is ended.

  As described above, according to the microscope system 100 according to the present embodiment, the motor controller 27 controls the moving speed of the electric stage 11 in association with the moving speed of the specimen on the image, thereby allowing the magnification value of the observation magnification. Regardless, the electric stage 11 can be moved so that the moving speed of the specimen on the image before and after the enlarged display does not fluctuate. This makes it possible to maintain a constant moving speed of the specimen on the image and realize stable observation.

In the present embodiment, the case where the sample is displayed in an enlarged manner has been described as an example. For example, when the motorized stage 11 is driven when the sample is displayed in a reduced size, the amount of movement of the sample per unit time on the image is reduced. Smaller than before display. In this case, the speed information detection unit 51 sets the movement speed V _n so as to accelerate the electric stage 11 according to the expression (1) based on the movement speed x _n / t of the sample after the reduced display. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the movement speed of the specimen on the image before the reduced display and after the reduced display from fluctuating.

In the present embodiment, until the movement amount of the electric stage 11 If you can not calculate the movement amount x _n sample on the image for very large, it is possible to calculate the movement amount x _n of the sample on the image electric it is necessary to decelerate the moving velocity V _n of the stage 11. In this case, the motor controller 27 may calculate the moving speed V _n [mm / sec] of the electric stage 11 by, for example, the following expression (2) instead of the expression (1).
V _n = V ′ / 2 (2)

On the other hand, is equal to the moving amount x _n is 0 specimens on images to the amount of movement is very small of the motorized stage 11, the electric stage until it is possible to calculate the movement amount x _n of the sample on the image 11 it is necessary to accelerate the moving velocity V _n of. In this case, the motor controller 27 may calculate the moving speed V _n [mm / sec] of the electric stage 11 by, for example, the following formula (3) instead of the formula (1).
V _n = V ′ × 2 (3)

  In the present embodiment, the motion vector detection method based on block matching has been described as an example. However, it is only necessary to detect the amount of image movement per unit time between frames of a plurality of images. A known technique such as a motion vector detection method using the luminance value of a representative point for each block of a plurality of pixels as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-122585 may be employed.

[Second Embodiment]
The microscope system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
In the microscope system 100 according to the present embodiment, the velocity information detection unit 51 calculates the movement amount per unit time of the sample calculated from the correlation image obtained by synthesizing a plurality of images acquired at time intervals by the imaging unit 18. It is different from the first embodiment in that it is detected as movement speed information.
Hereinafter, in the description of the present embodiment, portions common to the configuration of the microscope system 100 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The speed information detection unit 51 detects a correlation image by the phase only correlation method. Specifically, the speed information detection unit 51 registers an image at an arbitrary time point acquired by the imaging unit 18 while the electric stage 11 is driven as a registered image. Also, an image after one or more frames (t seconds later) from that time point is set as an input image, and as shown in FIG. 7, each of the registered image and the input image is individually subjected to Fourier transform. Subsequently, only the respective phase components are extracted and combined, and a correlation image of the registered image and the input image is acquired by performing inverse Fourier transform on the combined phase components.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, in the registered image, a sample (a white region arranged at the center position of the image in FIG. 8) is positioned approximately at the center of the visual field range. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, it is assumed that in the input image, the sample is moved 20 [pixels] in the right direction toward the paper surface as compared with the registered image.

The correlation image shown in FIG. 8C represents the magnitude of the correlation value when there is no positional deviation at the center of the image, and is a position shifted by 20 [pixel] rightward from the image center toward the paper surface. Only one point is white. If this one point is a correlation peak, the position shift amount of the input image with respect to the registered image can be obtained from the peak position of the correlation image. Further, if the frame interval between the registered image and the input image is t [sec] and the positional deviation amount between the registered image and the input image is x _n [pixel], the moving speed of the sample between the frames is x _n / t [pixel / sec]. ].

According to the microscope system 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the velocity information detection unit 51 calculates the positional deviation amount of two images (registered image and input image) whose acquisition time is around in these correlation images. The moving speed of the sample on the image can be easily detected simply by calculating from the peak position of the luminance and calculating the positional deviation amount of both images with respect to the difference in acquisition time between the two images based on the peak position. Therefore, the moving speed of the electric stage 11 can be easily associated with the moving speed of the specimen on the image. Thereby, the moving speed of the electric stage 11 can be easily controlled so that the fluctuation of the moving speed of the specimen on the image due to the change of the observation magnification is reduced.
In the present embodiment, the phase-only correlation method has been described as an example of the correlation image detection method, but a known technique such as a normalized correlation method may be employed instead.

[Third Embodiment]
The microscope system according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
In the microscope system 200 according to the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the input unit 130 includes a field-of-view range setting unit 33 that sets a field-of-view range of an image displayed on the monitor 40, and the target of the specimen on the image It differs from the first embodiment and the second embodiment in that the moving speed A is variable.
Hereinafter, in the description of the present embodiment, portions common to the configuration of the microscope system 100 according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  The field-of-view range setting unit 33 is connected to a mouse, for example, and can set a range designated by the user using the mouse on the image displayed on the monitor 40 as the field-of-view range of the image.

Velocity information detection unit 51, as the distance that the size of the field of view of the set image by viewing range setting unit 33 and normalized specimen moves at a specified time, the target movement speed A _n of the specimen on the image It comes to calculate. For example, if the width of the image corresponding to the distance obtained by normalizing the size of the visual field range of the image is B _n [pixel] and the specified time is C [sec], the target moving speed _An [pixel / sec] is expressed by the following equation: It is represented by (4).
A _n = B _n × (1 / C) (4)
The target moving speed A of the specimen on the image in the formula (1) and A _n.

The operation of the microscope system 200 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When there is no instruction to drive the electric stage 11 from the user in Step SA3 (Step SA3 “NO”) and the user designates a range on the image displayed on the monitor 40 by the visual field range setting unit 33 (Step SA7 “YES”). The specified range is set as the visual field range of the image. The visual field range of the image set by the visual field range setting unit 33 is input to the monitor 40 via the control unit 50, and the visual field range of the image on the monitor 40 is changed (step SA8).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the observation magnification is increased by exchanging the digital zoom or the objective lens 16 with respect to an image of a sample (“OLY” in the figure) having the entire maximum imaging range of the imaging unit 18 as the visual field range. To zoom in on the specimen. Then, a part of the visual field range of the image is partially read as the attention range.

In FIG. 11, for example, when the width B ₁ of the field of view of the normal image displaying the maximum image range of the image capturing unit 18 is 100 [pixel], this value is the width B _{1 of the} field of view (own value). The distance is considered 1 by normalizing with. Further, when the width B ₂ of the field of view of the image in the partial reading was 50 [pixel], considered as the distance 1 by normalizing the value by the width B _n of the field-of-view range _(the value of its own).

The width of the image corresponding to the distance 1 obtained by normalizing the size of the visual field range is 100 [pixel] during normal observation and 50 [pixel] during partial reading. Assuming that the specified time is C = 1, the target moving speed in the normal visual field range is A ₁ = 100 [pixel / sec] and the target moving speed in partial reading is A ₂ = 50 [pixel / sec] according to the equation (4). sec]. In the speed information detection unit 51, a target movement speed A ₁ of the specimen on the image in the formula (1) is changed to the new target travel speed A ₂ (step SA9).

Subsequently, when the user determines to continue observation (step SA10 “NO”), the process returns to step SA3. In this case, in step SA6, the speed information detecting unit 51 sets the moving speed V _n of the electric stage 11 on the basis the equation (1) to the target moving speed A _2, the moving speed of the electric stage 11 is controlled by the motor controller 27 Is done.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 12, from the state where the sample is arranged at the center of the image on the monitor 40, the stage is driven for 0.5 seconds in the right direction (constant direction) toward the paper surface as shown in FIG. Suppose you went. In this case, the amount of movement of the sample on the monitor 40 in the normal visual field range is 50 [pixel], whereas the amount of movement of the sample on the monitor 40 at the time of partial reading is 25 [pixel]. Therefore, the sample is moved from the center of the image to the right end of the image by driving the stage for 0.5 seconds in both the normal visual field range and the partial reading. That is, the moving speed of the sample with respect to the visual field range of the image is kept constant.

  As described above, according to the microscope system 200 according to the present embodiment, in the speed information detection unit 51, the sample has a distance that normalized the size of the visual field range of the image set by the visual field range setting unit 33 for a specified time. By setting the target moving speed of the sample on the image so as to move at the position, the motor controller 27 causes the moving speed of the sample relative to the visual field range of the image during observation using the normal visual field range and partial reading. The movement speed of the electric stage 11 can be controlled so that is constant.

This embodiment can be modified as follows.
For example, the control unit 50 determines the aspect ratio and aspect ratio of the image viewing range displayed on the monitor 40 with respect to the maximum imaging range that can be imaged by the imaging unit 18 (hereinafter referred to as “ratio of the image viewing range to the maximum imaging range”). And the motor controller 27 may control the moving speed of the electric stage 11 based on the ratio of the image visual field range to the maximum imaging range.

  In this case, the motor controller 27 may control the movement speed of the electric stage 11 in the X-axis direction based on the aspect ratio, and may control the movement speed of the electric stage 11 in the Y-axis direction based on the aspect ratio. Good. For example, when the vertical length of the image visual field range is smaller than the vertical length of the maximum imaging range (for example, 1/2), the moving speed of the electric stage 11 in the X-axis direction is slow. (For example, it may be controlled to be ½ times). The same applies to the moving speed of the electric stage 11 in the Y-axis direction. By doing so, in the case of partial reading, the motor controller 27 can move the motorized stage 11 so that the fluctuation of the moving speed of the sample with respect to the visual field range of the image is reduced.

  Further, the motor controller 27 may control the moving speed of the electric stage 11 so that the moving speed of the sample with respect to the image viewing field range is the same before and after the ratio of the image viewing field range to the maximum imaging range is changed. In this way, even when the motorized stage 11 is driven when the visual field range of the image displayed on the monitor 40 is changed by the visual field range setting unit 33, the moving speed of the specimen is relative to the visual field range of the image. Abrupt changes can be prevented and stable observation can be realized.

Further, the present embodiment can be modified as follows.
For example, the drive instruction unit 31 may function as a speed instruction unit that instructs the pulse motor 25 to move the electric stage 11. In this case, the drive instructing unit 31 instructs the moving direction of the electric stage 11 to be the direction in which the joystick is pushed down from the upright state, and instructs the moving speed of the electric stage 11 corresponding to the angle at which the joystick is pushed down. do it. Specifically, the moving speed of the electric stage 11 may be increased as the angle at which the joystick is pushed down increases. The moving direction and moving speed of the electric stage 11 determined by the driving instruction unit 31 are input to the speed information detecting unit 51 as a driving instruction.

For example, if the moving speed of the electric stage 11 serving as a reference is V ₁ ′ and the coefficient depending on the tilt angle x of the drive instruction unit 31 is α, the speed information detection unit 51 can calculate the electric stage according to the following equation (5). 11 moving speed V ′ is reset.
V ′ = V ₁ ′ × α (5)
Here, α = 0 (x = 0 °), α = 1 (0 ° <x ≦ 45 °), α = 2 (45 ° <x ≦ 90 °)

  As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14, when the drive instruction unit 31 inputs a drive instruction for the electric stage 11 from the user (“YES” in step SA <b> 3), the speed information detection unit 51 performs electric drive according to Expression (5). The moving speed V ′ of the stage 11 is reset (step SA3 ′). Then, the operation of the electric stage 11 is controlled by the motor controller 27, and the electric stage 11 moves at the moving speed instructed by the drive instructing unit 31 (step SA4).

  In this case, if the moving speed V ′ of the electric stage 11 is indicated by the drive instructing unit 31 so that the moving speed of the sample on the image becomes a desired speed, the motor controller 27 can be obtained when the observation magnification is changed. Thus, the electric stage 11 can be moved so that the desired moving speed of the specimen on the image is constant.

  In the present embodiment, the joystick has been described as an example of the drive instruction unit. However, any device that can set the moving direction and moving speed of the electric stage 11 may be used. For example, the rotation amount per unit time may be set. Accordingly, an XY handle that can instruct the moving speed of the electric stage 11 may be adopted. Moreover, it is good also as employ | adopting the apparatus which can instruct | indicate separately the moving direction and moving speed of the electric stage 11, respectively.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the specific structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included. For example, the present invention is not limited to those applied to the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof, and may be applied to embodiments in which these embodiments and modifications are appropriately combined, and is not particularly limited. Absent.

Further, in this embodiment, as an initial value of the moving velocity V _n of the electric stage 11, and be set to any value suitable for the case of using the objective lens 16 having the highest magnification possibilities is large 100-fold However, instead of this, for example, it may be set to an arbitrary value suitable for the case of using an objective lens with a magnification (for example, 4 times) having the greatest possibility of the lowest magnification.
Further, for example, the control unit 50 or the like may include a stage drive speed storage unit that stores the past movement speed V _n of the electric stage 11. Further, based on the information of the moving speed V _n of the past of the motorized stage 11, it is also possible to use a mean value and a minimum value of the moving velocity V _n of the motorized stage 11 which is calculated in the past.

In the present embodiment, the speed information detection unit 51 determines whether or not the moving speed information of the electric stage 11 has been changed. For example, while storing the moving speed information of the electric stage 11, Dedicated hardware for determining whether or not the moving speed information has been changed may be provided.
In the present embodiment, the drive instruction unit 31 is connected to the joystick. However, it is sufficient that the user can input a drive instruction including an instruction of the moving direction of the electric stage 11, for example, a mouse. It may be connected. In this case, for example, when the user presses a button on the screen displayed on the monitor 40 with a mouse, a driving instruction may be input.

In the present embodiment, the pulse motor is exemplified as the drive unit. However, instead of this, for example, another actuator such as a linear motor, a stepping motor, a piezo, or an ultrasonic motor may be used. . For example, when using a DC motor, the speed may be controlled by the voltage value.
In the above embodiments, the upright microscope apparatus 10 has been described as an example. However, an inverted microscope apparatus may be employed.

11 Electric stage (stage)
14 Magnification changing unit 18 Imaging unit (image acquiring unit)
25 Pulse motor (stage drive unit)
27 Motor controller (stage controller)
31 Drive instruction section (speed instruction section)
51 Speed information detector (detector)
100,200 microscope system

Claims (4)

A stage on which a specimen is placed and movable in a direction intersecting the optical axis of illumination light irradiated on the specimen;
An image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of the specimen irradiated with the illumination light;
A display unit for displaying an image of the specimen acquired by the image acquisition unit;
A detection unit for detecting movement speed information of the sample on the image in the display unit from the image of the sample acquired at a time interval by the image acquisition unit;
When the observation magnification of the specimen displayed on the display unit is changed, the movement speed information before changing the observation magnification detected by the detection unit and the movement speed after changing the observation magnification Based on the information, the moving speed of the specimen on the display section before changing the observation magnification and the moving speed of the specimen on the display section after changing the observation magnification are the visual field range of the image And a stage control unit for controlling the moving speed of the stage so as to be constant with respect to the microscope system. The microscope system according to claim 1, wherein the movement speed information of the specimen is a movement amount of the specimen per unit time between a plurality of images of the specimen. The microscope system according to claim 1, wherein the moving speed information of the sample is a moving amount per unit time of the sample calculated from a correlation image obtained by combining a plurality of images of the sample acquired at time intervals. . A stage drive unit for driving the stage;
The microscope system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising a speed instruction unit that instructs the stage driving unit to move the stage.

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