JP7335011B1 - Microscopic observation device and cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to streamline work associated with magnified observation of an object to be observed in a liquid sample of a certain amount or more. [Solution] The cartridge includes a stage and a cartridge removably attached to the stage, the cartridge includes a base plate in which a notch is formed, and a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements provided in the notches formed in the base plate. a channel support member provided on a base plate and provided with a groove in the longitudinal direction of the channel for forming a channel for supplying a liquid sample to the device, As the member approaches the device along the longitudinal direction of the channel, the groove is inclined in the longitudinal direction of the channel. [Selection diagram] Figure 1A

Description

The present invention relates to a microscopic observation apparatus and a cartridge detachably provided on a stage of the microscopic observation apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a microscopic imaging apparatus that displays an entire observation target placed on a mounting portion of the microscopic imaging apparatus at once (see Patent Document 1). For example, in Patent Document 1, a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of pixels including a microlens for condensing light and a light receiving unit for receiving the light condensed by the microlens are arranged at predetermined intervals, and the solid-state imaging device A microscopic imaging device is disclosed that has a mounting portion provided on the device. It is known that an observation target is placed on the placement section and the observation target placed on the placement section is photographed by the solid-state imaging device, thereby displaying the entire observation target at once.

JP 2016-34099 A

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, by dropping about one drop of the liquid sample onto the light receiving portion, an object in the liquid sample can be enlarged and observed. However, in order to magnify and observe an object in a liquid sample of more than a certain amount, it is necessary to repeat the operation of transferring the dropped sample to a collection container with a dropper or the like and then dropping a new sample each time. There was a problem that it became complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a microscopic observation apparatus and a cartridge that make it possible to improve the efficiency of work associated with magnified observation of an object to be observed in a liquid sample of a certain amount or more. With the goal.

A microscopic observation apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a stage and a cartridge detachably attached to the stage, wherein the cartridge includes a base plate having a notch formed thereon and a a device including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements provided in cutouts provided on the base plate; The channel support member is provided with an inclination in the channel longitudinal direction so that the bottom surface of the groove descends as the device is approached along the channel longitudinal direction. there is

A microscopic observation apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the microscopic observation apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the flow path support member is provided above the flow path support member so as to face the flow path support member. A channel upper surface member forming an upper surface of the channel and an end portion of the channel upper surface member on the liquid supply side are higher than the device side.

A microscopic observation apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the microscopic observation apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the channel upper surface member is inclined such that the height of the inner upper surface increases as the distance from the device increases. is provided.

A microscopic observation apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the microscopic observation apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the microscopic observation device is provided at the fluid supply side end of the flow channel upper surface member and has a sample container. a connection adapter to which the opening of the sample container can be attached and detached in an inverted state, wherein the height of the lower end of the opening of the connection adapter is substantially the same as the height of the fluid supply side end of the upper channel member is.

A microscopic observation apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the microscopic observation apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein a light source for emitting light and a predetermined viewing angle with respect to the photoelectric conversion element are provided. and a plurality of viewing angle control layers that control the traveling angle of incident light so that the angle of incidence of light from the light source is equal to or less than the viewing angle of the viewing angle control layer. A directivity angle and an illumination distance between the light source and the device are set.

A microscopic observation device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the microscopic observation device according to the fifth aspect, wherein the light source is a single LED.

A microscopic observation apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the microscopic observation apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the channel upper surface member is positioned to face the device with a space therebetween. It has a light transmissive window member provided.

A cartridge according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is a cartridge detachably mounted on a main body of a microscopic observation device, and includes a base plate and a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements provided in cutouts formed in the base plate. a device; and a channel support member provided on the base plate and having grooves in the longitudinal direction of the channel for forming a channel for supplying a liquid sample to the device, wherein the channel support The member is inclined in the longitudinal direction of the channel so that the bottom surface of the groove descends as it approaches the device along the longitudinal direction of the channel.

According to one aspect of the present invention, since the liquid sample is supplied to the device 10 through the flow path, the object to be observed in the liquid sample can be sequentially enlarged and observed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the efficiency of work associated with magnified observation of an observation target in a liquid sample of a certain amount or more.

1 is a perspective view of a microscopic observation device according to this embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the microscopic observation apparatus according to the present embodiment when the cartridge is removed; It is a perspective view of the cartridge which concerns on this embodiment. It is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of a microscope observation device concerning this embodiment. It is an example of the sectional view of the device concerning this embodiment. It is an electric block diagram which shows typically the observation system using the device which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a top view showing a state in which an observation target is placed on the mounting portion of the device; It is the schematic which looked at the microscopic observation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment from the side. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 6; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 6; It is the figure which looked at the flow-path support member 61 from the top. It is the figure which looked at the microscope observation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment from the top. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 8; It is an example of the spectral distribution characteristic of the light source according to the present embodiment. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a device according to this embodiment; FIG. It is a figure showing the directivity of the light source concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship of the illumination distance of a light source, and an irradiation range which concerns on this embodiment.

Hereinafter, each embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of well-known matters and redundant descriptions of substantially the same configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary verbosity in the following description and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a microscopic observation device according to this embodiment. FIG. 1B is a perspective view when the cartridge is removed from the microscopic observation apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 1C is a perspective view of the cartridge according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the microscopic observation apparatus according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, the microscopic observation apparatus S includes a main body 1 having a stage 2 and a light source 3 provided on the stage 2 and emitting light. Further, the microscopic observation apparatus S includes a cartridge 9 which is detachably attached to the main body 1 (specifically, the stage 2, for example).

As shown in FIG. 1C, the cartridge 9 includes a base plate 7 having cutouts, and a device 10 including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements provided in the cutouts formed in the base plate 7 . As a result, the light source 3 can emit light toward the device 10 provided in the cartridge 9 as indicated by an arrow A1 in FIG. Here, the device 10 is also called a micro imaging device (MID).

As shown in FIG. 1C and FIG. 2, the cartridge 9 is provided on the base plate 7 and has a channel support in which a groove for forming a channel for supplying the liquid sample to the device 10 is provided in the longitudinal direction of the channel. A member 61 and a channel upper surface member 62 provided above the channel support member 61 so as to face the channel support member and forming the upper surface of the channel.

As shown in FIGS. 1C and 2, the cartridge 9 further includes a connection adapter 5 to which the mouth of the sample container 4 can be attached and detached while the sample container 4 is turned upside down. When the liquid sample is dropped into the sample container 4 , the liquid sample flows through the connection adapter 5 into the channel formed by the channel support member 61 and the channel upper surface member 62 . A liquid sample is supplied to the device 10 through this channel, which is then swept away by the supplied liquid sample, and the sampled liquid sample falls through the channel and into the sample collection container 8 .

FIG. 3 is an example of a cross-sectional view of a device according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the device 10 includes a solid-state imaging device 11 and a mounting section 12 on which an object to be photographed can be placed. The solid-state imaging device 11 is configured by arranging a plurality of pixels 14 each including a microlens 13 for condensing light and a light receiving portion for receiving the light condensed by the microlens 13 at predetermined intervals. It has a sensor unit that The solid-state imaging device 11 will be specifically described below.

In the solid-state imaging device 11 shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of photodiode layers 16, which are a plurality of impurity layers, are arranged in a semiconductor substrate 15 made of silicon or the like. In the present embodiment, for example, the photodiode layer 16 serves as a light receiving portion. It doesn't have to be.

An intermediate layer 17 is provided on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 15 on which the plurality of photodiode layers 16 are provided. On the surface of the intermediate layer 17, a plurality of micro lenses 13 are arranged. are arranged in correspondence with the positions of the photodiode layers 16 of . The microlens 13 is an example of a viewing angle control layer that controls the traveling angle of incident light so that it falls within a predetermined viewing angle with respect to the photodiode layer 16 .

Note that the intermediate layer 17 is, for example, a wavelength selection layer such as a color filter layer, a flattening layer for flattening the surface of the intermediate layer, or the like.

Such a solid-state imaging device 11 has a plurality of pixels 14 each including a photodiode layer 16 and a microlens 13 for condensing light onto the photodiode layer 16 . In the solid-state imaging device 11, a sensor section is configured by arranging a plurality of pixels 14 at predetermined intervals.

In such a device 10, an object to be observed is placed on the placement section 12 while being placed under the light source 3. By arranging an observation target in the plane and photographing the observation target thus arranged with the solid-state imaging device 11, the observation target can be observed. Here, as an example, the light source 3 is described as a light source dedicated to photographing provided for photographing the observation target in more detail. good.

FIG. 4 is an electrical block diagram schematically showing an observation system using the device according to this embodiment. The observation system shown in FIG. 4 includes a device 10 , a logic circuit section 19 that is a signal processing circuit, and a display section 20 .

The logic circuit unit 19 performs color correction (white balance, color matrix), noise correction (noise reduction, flaw correction), and image quality correction (edge enhancement, gamma correction) on the voltage signal (raw data) obtained by the device 10. and other predetermined signal processing, and output the signal-processed voltage signal as an image signal. In the present embodiment, since the device 10 does not include an optical lens system such as a lens for forming an image or a lens for the purpose of scaling, the logic circuit section 19 does not include correction for such lens aberration. It does not include a correction circuit for shading correction.

Such a logic circuit section 19 may be incorporated in the solid-state imaging device 11 by being provided in the semiconductor substrate 15 around the sensor section, which is an area in which the pixels 14 are arranged, for example, or may be provided separately from the solid-state imaging device 11. A separate component from the solid-state imaging device 11 provided on the substrate may be provided.

Next, the display unit 20 is, for example, a display device, and forms and displays an image of an observation target based on an image signal output from the logic circuit unit 19 . The display unit 20 can display the entire observation target placed on the placement unit 12 of the device 10 at once.

Such an observation system can display the entire observation target placed on the mounting section 12 of the device 10 on the display section 20 at once. can be observed simultaneously in real time.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing a state in which an observation target is arranged on the mounting portion of the device. In FIG. 5, it is assumed that the liquid sample is supplied and the observation object 21 is arranged in the liquid sample at a certain moment. In this embodiment, for example, a 10M sensor in which the interval P between the pixels 14 is 1 μm, the viewing angle θ of the microlenses 13 is 10 degrees, and 1000×1000 pixels 14 are formed in the sensor section 22 of the solid-state imaging device 11 is used. Assume that an observation object 21 of 1000 μm is arranged on the surface of the mounting portion 12 of the device 10 having the device 10 . 5, the number of pixels 14 arranged in the sensor section 22 is omitted. Further, the sensor section 22 shown in FIG. 5 is electrically connected to a substrate 24 provided with, for example, the logic circuit section 19 by wires 23 provided around the sensor section 22 .

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the microscopic observation apparatus according to this embodiment. 7A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 6. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 6. FIG. 7C is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 6. FIG. FIG. 7D is a top view of the flow path support member 61. FIG. FIG. 8 is a top view of the microscopic observation apparatus according to this embodiment. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 8. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the connection adapter 5 is provided at the fluid supply side end of the upper channel member 62 . As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the connection adapter 5 has, for example, an opening for connection with the mouth of the sample container 4, which is provided substantially perpendicular to the base plate 7. As shown in FIG. As a result, by fitting the opening of the sample container 4 with the mouth thereof directed downward, the liquid sample dropped into the sample container 4 can be easily poured into the channel.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the flow path is formed as a region surrounded by the inner surface of the flow path support member 61 and the inner surface of the flow path upper surface member 62 . As shown in FIG. 7A, the channel support member 61 is provided with a groove R1 in the longitudinal direction of the channel. As shown in FIGS. 7A-7C, the width of the groove is L1.

As shown in FIGS. 7B and 7D , a through hole 611 is provided in the channel support member 61 above the mounting portion 12 of the device 10 . As an example, the through hole 611 has a width L3 in the longitudinal direction of the flow path and a width L1 that is the same as the horizontal width L1 of the flow path. Thereby, the liquid sample is supplied to the mounting section 12 of the device 10 through the through hole 611 . The channel support member 61 is longitudinally provided with grooves for forming channels for discharging the liquid from the device 10 . As a result, the liquid sample is discharged toward the end of the channel support member 61 .
As shown in FIG. 7C, a through-hole 612 having a width L1 is provided at the end of the channel support member 61, and the liquid sample flows down through the through-hole 612, thereby dropping the liquid sample into the sample collection container 8. is recovered.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, the channel support member 61 is inclined so that the bottom surface height of the groove R1 decreases as it approaches the device 10 in the longitudinal direction of the channel. Thereby, the liquid sample is supplied to the device 10 through the channel.

As shown in FIG. 8, the channel upper surface member 62 has a light transmissive (for example, transparent) window member 63 provided at a position facing the device 10 with a space therebetween. Light is thereby supplied to the device 10 through the window member 63 .

As shown in FIG. 9, the height H2 of the liquid supply side end of the flow path upper surface member 62 is higher than the height H1 of the device 10 side. This promotes accumulation of air bubbles on the liquid supply side end portion side of the flow path upper surface member 62 , and can prevent air bubbles from being supplied onto the surface of the device 10 .

Further, as shown in FIG. 9 , the channel upper surface member 62 is inclined so that the height of the inner upper surface increases as the distance from the device 10 increases. As a result, the inner upper surface of the flow path upper surface member 62 has a sloped shape with no corners, so it is possible to prevent air bubbles from adhering to the corners.

As shown in FIG. 9, the connection adapter 5 is connected to the fluid supply side end of the flow path upper surface member. As shown in FIG. 9, the height of the lower end of the opening of the connection adapter 5 is height H2 as an example in FIG. 9, which is substantially the same as the height H2 of the fluid supply side end of the flow path upper surface member. As a result, the liquid sample is smoothly supplied to the channel.

FIG. 10 is an example of spectral distribution characteristics of the light source according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10A, the light source 3 according to this embodiment is, for example, a single white LED. The light source 3 is, for example, an all-visible light type and has a luminous intensity of, for example, 1560 mcd.

FIG. 11 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the device according to this embodiment. FIG. 12A is a diagram showing the directivity of the light source according to this embodiment. FIG. 12B is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the illumination distance and the irradiation range of the light source according to this embodiment.
As described in Patent Document 1, the device 10 is capable of photographing an observation target arranged within a predetermined distance L from the vertex of the microlens 13 . Here, the predetermined distance L is a distance determined by the viewing angle θ of the microlenses 13 of the solid-state imaging device 11 and the interval P between the pixels 14 arranged in the solid-state imaging device 11 .

The conditions under which the device 10 can capture an image of the observation target are expressed as follows, where S is the distance of the imaging plane of the observation target, and P is the interval between the pixels 14, as shown in FIG.
2×S≦P (Formula 1)

If the distance S of the photographing plane does not satisfy the above formula 1, the light from the observation target is received not only by the pixel 14 that originally receives the light, but also by other pixels 14 adjacent to the pixel 14 . As a result, the device 10 photographs the observation target in a so-called out-of-focus state. Here, the distance S to the imaging plane of the observation target is expressed as follows, where θ is the viewing angle of the microlens 13 and L is the distance from the vertex of the microlens 13 to the observation target.
tan θ=S/L (Formula 2)

From the above formulas 1 and 2, the distance L from the vertex of the microlens 13 to the observation object is expressed as follows.
L≦P/(2×tan θ) (Formula 3)

From Expression 3, the device 10 according to the present embodiment can photograph an observation target arranged within P/(2×tan θ) at a distance L from the vertex of the microlens 13 .

Here, the directivity angle of the light source 3 and the illumination distance between the light source 3 and the device 10 are set so that the incident angle of the light from the light source 3 is equal to or less than the viewing angle of the microlens 13 . Specifically, the light source directivity angle is, for example, 70 degrees as shown in FIG. and the surface of the device 10 is set to 36.5 mm. In this case, the light source 3 with the above specifications includes a point 36.5 mm vertically downward from the light source 3, and the irradiation range R2 on the plane perpendicular to the light beam is 3.2 mm long and 4.7 mm wide. . The light source directivity angle and the illumination distance are set so that the plurality of microlenses 13 as a whole fall within this illumination range.
The vertical angle of illumination arrangement is 0 deg.

As described above, the microscopic observation apparatus S according to this embodiment includes the stage 2 and the cartridge 9 detachably attached to the stage 2 . The cartridge 9 includes a base plate 7 having a notch formed thereon, a device 10 including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements provided in the notch formed in the base plate 7, and a device 10 provided on the base plate 7 and having liquid in the device 10. and a channel support member 61 in which a groove for forming a channel for supplying a sample is provided in the longitudinal direction of the channel. The channel support member 61 is inclined in the channel longitudinal direction so that the bottom surface of the groove descends as the device 10 is approached along the channel longitudinal direction.

With this configuration, the liquid sample is supplied to the device 10 through the flow path, so that the object to be observed in the liquid sample can be sequentially enlarged and observed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the efficiency of work associated with magnified observation of an observation target in a liquid sample of a certain amount or more.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the gist of the present invention at the implementation stage. Also, various inventions can be formed by appropriate combinations of the plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components across different embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

S microscopic observation device 1 main body 10 device 11 solid-state imaging device 12 mounting section 13 microlens 14 pixel 15 semiconductor substrate 16 photodiode layer 17 intermediate layer 18 logic circuit section 19 logic circuit section 2 stage 20 display section 21 observation object 22 sensor Part 23 Wire 24 Substrate 3 Light source 4 Sample container 5 Connection adapter 61 Channel support members 611 and 612 Through hole 62 Channel upper surface member 63 Window member 7 Base plate 8 Sample recovery container 9 Cartridge

Claims (7)

a stage;
a cartridge detachably provided on the stage;
with
The cartridge is
a base plate having a notch formed therein;
a device including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements provided in cutouts formed in the base plate;
a channel support member provided on the base plate and having grooves in the longitudinal direction of the channel for forming a channel for supplying a liquid sample to the device;
a flow path top surface member provided above the flow path support member so as to face the flow path support member and forming the top surface of the flow path;
a connection adapter provided at the end of the flow path support member on the fluid supply side and provided with an opening to which the mouth of the sample container can be attached and detached;
has
The bottom surface of the groove is formed by a surface provided on the connection adapter side and parallel to the device side, and a surface provided on the device side and inclined in the longitudinal direction of the flow channel so as to descend as the device is approached. is,
A microscopic observation apparatus , wherein the upper surface of the channel is inclined in the longitudinal direction of the channel so that the end on the fluid supply side is higher. 2. The microscopic observation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the channel upper surface member is inclined so that the height of the inner upper surface increases as the distance from the device increases. 3. The microscopic observation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the height of the lower end of the opening of the connection adapter is substantially the same as the height of the end of the upper flow channel member on the fluid supply side. a light source that emits light;
a plurality of viewing angle control layers for controlling the traveling angle of incident light so as to fall within a predetermined viewing angle with respect to the photoelectric conversion element;
with
4. The directivity angle of the light source and the illumination distance between the light source and the device are set such that the incident angle of the light from the light source is equal to or less than the viewing angle of the viewing angle control layer. Microscopic observation device according to any one of. The microscopic observation device according to Claim 4, wherein the light source is a single LED. The microscopic observation apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the flow path upper surface member has a light-transmissive window member provided at a position facing the device with a space therebetween. A cartridge detachably attached to a main body of a microscopic observation device,
a base plate;
a device including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements provided in cutouts formed in the base plate;
a channel support member provided on the base plate and having grooves in the longitudinal direction of the channel for forming a channel for supplying a liquid sample to the device;
a flow path top surface member provided above the flow path support member so as to face the flow path support member and forming the top surface of the flow path;
a connection adapter provided at the end of the flow path support member on the fluid supply side and provided with an opening to which the mouth of the sample container can be attached and detached;
has
The bottom surface of the groove is formed by a surface provided on the connection adapter side and parallel to the device side, and a surface provided on the device side and inclined in the longitudinal direction of the flow channel so as to descend as the device is approached. is,
A cartridge in which the upper surface of the flow path is inclined in the longitudinal direction of the flow path so that the end on the fluid supply side is higher .