JPH11231228A - Microscope system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the observation of a sample without the occurrence of out-of-focus even when the sample is arranged on a stage while being inclined by previously reading three-dimensional(3D) coordinates more than the several specified positions of the sample placed on the stage through a coordinate reading means and storing them in a storage means. SOLUTION: The 3D coordinates more than three positions of a sample 37 placed on a stage 41 are previously read by a coordinate reading part 47 and stored in a work memory 67 and from these 3D coordinates, the inclination of the sample 37 placed on the stage 41 with respect to the stage 41 is obtained. Therefore, by designating the horizontal coordinate at any arbitrary observation position, the coordinate of a height at the observation position can be obtained by a height coordinate calculating means 69 before observing the sample 37. Then, a horizontal move instructing means 71 and a vertical move instructing means 72 instruct the move of the stage 41 to a horizontal move control part 49 and a vertical move control part 51 and the stage 41 is moved to the designated horizontal coordinate and the obtained height coordinate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microscope system capable of remotely controlling the movement of a stage on which a sample is placed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a microscope system capable of remotely controlling the movement of a stage on which a sample is mounted, for example,
The one shown in FIG. 5 is known. In the figure, a microscope 1 is installed on one side A that is remotely operated. The microscope 1 is provided with a stage 5 for scanning the specimen 3.

A scanning stage controller 7 for controlling the horizontal movement and the vertical movement of the stage 5 is connected to the stage 5. The movable parts such as the scanning stage controller 7 and the objective lens 9 of the microscope 1
The communication interface 11 is connected to the image transmission device 13a, and can be controlled from the image transmission device 13a.

A camera 15 for picking up an observation image of the specimen 3 is mounted on the upper part of the microscope 1. A monitor 19a that displays an image 17 of the specimen 3 captured by the camera 15 is connected to the image transmission device 13a. The image transmission device 13a is connected with operation means 21a for performing various settings for observing the specimen 3.

On the other hand, on the other side B for remote control, an image transmission device 13b of the same type as the image transmission device 13a on the one side A is provided.
Is installed. The image transmission device 13a and the image transmission device 13b are connected to each other by, for example, a communication line 23 or the like. A monitor 19b for displaying an image 17 of the specimen 3 transmitted from the image transmission device 13a on the one side A is connected to the image transmission device 13b on the other side B.

The image transmission device 13b has operating means 2 for making various settings necessary for remote operation in order to observe the specimen 3.
1b is connected. In the operating means 21b, for example, scanning of the stage 5 of the microscope 1 installed on one side A, change of the magnification of the objective lens 9, transmission of the captured image 17, and the like are performed.

The above-mentioned microscope system is used, for example, at a medical site when a place where a patient is operated and a place where the state of an affected part of a patient is checked are far from each other. Specifically, a specimen 3 placed on the stage 5 of the microscope 1 is used by a specialist pathologist or the like at a remote location to check the state of the cancer cells in the affected area during surgery on a cancer patient. To
It is used for remote observation.

Here, the specimen 3 is obtained by thinly cutting a part of the affected part and placing it on a slide glass 3a. In such a case, first, on one side A, a specimen 3 is prepared from the affected part of the patient to be operated. The prepared specimen 3 is placed on the stage 5 of the microscope 1 by an inspector or the like.

Next, the inspector or the like operates the operating means 21a to reduce the magnification to such a low level that the entire main part of the specimen 3 can be observed.
The objective lens 9 is switched. Then, the inspector adjusts the focus of the sample 3 while watching the monitor 19a and the like. The focused image 17 of the specimen 3 is transmitted via the communication line 23 by the inspector or the like operating the operation means 21a.
The still image is transmitted to the image transmission device 13b on the other side B.

The image 17 transmitted to the image transmission device 13b
Is displayed on the monitor 19b on the other side B. On the other side B, a pathologist or the like observes the image 17 displayed on the monitor 19b. The operation of the microscope 1 from here on is performed by a remote operation of a pathologist or the like, and the image 17 of the specimen 3 is observed in detail.

A pathologist or the like inputs the position, magnification, etc. of the specimen 3 to be observed in detail from the operating means 21b. The settings input by the operation unit 21b are stored in the image transmission device 13b.
Is transmitted to the image transmission device 13a on the one side A via. The image transmission device 13a receives the request from the image transmission device 13b and controls the scanning stage controller 7 and the microscope 1 to horizontally move the stage 5 and simultaneously switch to the designated high-magnification objective lens 9.

Then, the enlarged image 17 is picked up by the camera 15 and transmitted to the image transmission device 13b as a still image. Further, the pathologist or the like repeats the same operation, horizontally moves the stage 5 by the operation means 21b,
A plurality of portions of the specimen 3 are observed in detail. As described above, even if an operation is performed in a remote place by a pathologist or the like remotely operating the microscope 1, the state of the affected part is observed in detail, and the operation is performed based on an accurate instruction from the pathologist or the like. Is performed.

[0013]

However, in such a conventional microscope system, when the slide glass 3a of the sample 3 to be observed is not placed horizontally on the stage 5, the stage 5 is moved horizontally. As you move,
There is a problem that the image 17 is out of focus.

In such a case, the pathologist or the like makes a request to the examiner or the like on one side A to focus, and the image 1
7 has to be transferred again to confirm that focus has been achieved, and there has been a problem that a pathologist or the like cannot quickly determine the condition of the affected part. In reality, if the slide glass 3a is tilted, the focus shifts every time the observation position is changed. Therefore, the pathologist or the like repeatedly instructs the examiner or the like to obtain the desired image 17 many times. I had to ask for a match.

The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem. Even when a sample is placed on a stage at an angle, the sample can be observed without defocusing. It is an object to provide a microscope system.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microscope system comprising: a horizontal movement control means for controlling a horizontal movement of a stage on which a sample is mounted; and a vertical movement control means for controlling a vertical movement of the stage. In a microscope system,
Coordinate reading means for reading three-dimensional coordinates (X, Y, Z) consisting of horizontal coordinates (X, Y) at an arbitrary position of the sample placed on the stage and height coordinates Z as a focal position; At least three or more three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Z) of the sample read by the coordinate reading means.
n); storage means for storing (n = 1, 2,...);
The three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Y) stored in the storage means
n, Zn), a plurality of the horizontal coordinates (Xn, Yn)
Height coordinate calculating means for calculating a height coordinate Za of the observation position from the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) of the observation position of the sample; and movement of the stage to the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya). And horizontal movement instructing means for instructing the horizontal movement controlling means, and vertical movement instructing means for instructing the vertical movement controlling means to move the stage to the height coordinate Za.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the microscope system according to the first aspect, the height coordinate calculating means includes three horizontal coordinates (X1, Y) which are not on the same straight line.
1), (X2, Y2), (X3, Y3) and height coordinates Z1, Z2, Z3, and the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) are used to calculate the height coordinates Za of the observation position. And

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the microscope system according to the first aspect, wherein the vertical movement of the stage controlled by the vertical movement control means is controlled by the horizontal movement instruction. The horizontal movement of the stage controlled by the horizontal movement control means in response to an instruction from the means is performed at the same time.

The microscope system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the microscope system according to the third aspect, wherein the vertical movement control means further includes an automatic focusing function after the movement of the stage according to the instruction of the vertical movement instruction means. It is characterized in that fine adjustment for focusing the observation position is performed.

(Function) In the microscope system of the first aspect,
Three or more three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn) of the sample placed on the stage are read in advance by the coordinate reading means and stored in the storage means.
From (n, Yn, Zn), the inclination of the sample placed on the stage with respect to the stage is obtained.

Therefore, by specifying the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) at an arbitrary observation position of the sample, the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Y) are obtained by the height coordinate calculating means before the sample is observed.
Focus position in a), that is, height coordinate Za at the observation position
Can be obtained. Then, the horizontal movement instructing means and the vertical movement instructing means instruct the horizontal movement controlling means and the vertical moving controlling means to move the stage, and specify the designated horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) and the obtained height coordinates Z.
The stage is moved to a.

For this reason, when observing the sample, after the stage is moved to the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) at the observation position, no time is required for focusing, and the observation is actually performed after the stage is moved. The time until it becomes ready to perform is reduced. In addition, before observing the specimen, the height coordinate Za at the horizontal position (Xa, Ya) at the observation position is determined. For example, an automatic focusing function which was conventionally required when moving the stage by remote control is used. Is made unnecessary.

In the microscope system according to the second aspect, the inclination of the specimen mounted on the stage with respect to the stage is not horizontal to the three straight coordinates (X1, Y1), (X
2, Y2), (X3, Y3) and height coordinates Z1, Z
2 and Z3, the number of measurement points of the three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn) read by the coordinate reading means is minimized to three, and the measurement time is shortened.

Further, the storage capacity of the storage means required for storing the three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn) is minimized. In the microscope system according to the third aspect, since the vertical movement of the stage according to the instruction of the vertical movement instructing means and the horizontal movement of the stage according to the instruction of the horizontal movement instructing means are simultaneously performed, the movement of the stage to the observation position by the horizontal movement controlling means is performed. Before the horizontal movement is completed, the stage can be moved up and down to the height coordinate which is the focal position by the up and down movement control means.

For this reason, the horizontal coordinates (Xa,
The time from designating Ya) to the state where actual observation can be performed is reduced. In the microscope system according to the fourth aspect, since the fine adjustment of the focus at the observation position is performed by the automatic focus function after the vertical movement of the stage according to the instruction of the vertical movement instruction means, the load of the automatic focus function is minimized,
In a microscope system having an autofocus function, it is possible to reduce the time for focusing at the observation position.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment (corresponding to claims 1 to 3) of a microscope system of the present invention. In the figure, a microscope 31, an image transmission device 33a, and a monitor 35a are installed on one side A that is remotely operated.

A camera 39 for picking up an observation image of the specimen 37 is mounted on the upper part of the microscope 31. Microscope 3
A stage 41 is attached to 1 to scan the specimen 37. The microscope 31 has a plurality of interchangeable objective lenses 43 for observing the specimen 37 at various magnifications.

A scanning stage controller 45 for controlling the horizontal and vertical movements of the stage 41 is provided between the stage 41 of the microscope 31 and the image transmission device 33a.
Is arranged. The scanning stage controller 45 has a coordinate reading unit 47, a horizontal movement control unit 49, and a vertical movement control unit 51.

In this embodiment, the coordinate reading unit 47, the horizontal movement control unit 49, and the vertical movement control unit 51 are configured as one form of a coordinate reading unit, a horizontal movement control unit, and a vertical movement control unit. The coordinate reading unit 47 includes a stage 41
Has a function of reading the position of the image as three-dimensional coordinates (X, Y, Z).

The horizontal movement control unit 49 includes the image transmission device 33
In response to an instruction from a, the stage 41 has a function of moving the stage 41 to predetermined horizontal coordinates (X, Y). The vertical movement control unit 51 receives an instruction from the image transmission device 33a,
It has a function of moving the stage 41 to a predetermined height coordinate Z.

The movable parts such as the scanning stage controller 45 and the objective lens 43 of the microscope 31 are connected to the image transmission device 33a by a communication interface 53 such as RS232C or GPIB, and can be controlled from the image transmission device 33a side. Has been. In order to make various settings for observing the specimen 37, an operation unit 55a including a keyboard or the like is connected to the image transmission device 33a.

The image transmission device 33a includes an image input / output unit 57
a, an image memory 59a, an image transmission unit 61a, and a control unit 63a. The image input / output unit 57a includes the camera 3
9 has a function of capturing an observation image of the specimen 37 captured by the camera 9 as an image 65 and displaying the captured image 65 on the monitor 35a.

The image input / output unit 57a is provided with the operation unit 5
It has a function of writing the fetched image 65 as a still image in the image memory 59a in accordance with an instruction from 5a.
The image transmission unit 61a has a function of outputting the image 65 transferred from the image memory 59a to the other side B and a function of inputting various settings from the other side B. The control unit 63a includes a work memory 67, a height coordinate calculating unit 69,
It has a horizontal movement instructing means 71 and a vertical movement instructing means 73.

The control section 63a has a central control circuit such as a microcomputer (not shown) for controlling the entire microscope system. Work memory 67
Stores a plurality of positions of the specimen 37 placed on the stage 41 as three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn). In this embodiment, the work memory 67 stores three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z1), (X2, Y2, Z2),
It has a storage area for storing (X3, Y3, Z3).

The height coordinate calculating means 69 calculates the focal position at the observation position from the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) of the observation position,
That is, it has a function of obtaining the height coordinate Za of the stage 41. In this embodiment, the height coordinate calculating means 69
Is configured in the image transmission device 33a as, for example, a software program.

The horizontal movement instructing means 71 includes an operating means 55a.
Alternatively, the horizontal coordinates (X,
In response to (Y), the stage 41 has a function of outputting horizontal coordinates (X, Y) to the horizontal movement control unit 49 of the scanning stage controller 45 in order to move the stage 41 to the coordinate position. The vertical movement instructing means 73 includes an operating means 55a.
Alternatively, it has a function of receiving the height coordinate Z specified by the operation means 55b and outputting the height coordinate Z to the vertical movement control unit 51 of the scanning stage controller 45 to move the stage 41 to the coordinate position. ing.

In this embodiment, the horizontal movement instructing means 71
The up / down movement instructing means 73 includes an I / O port or the like built in the microcomputer. On the other hand, on the other side B for remote control, an image transmission device 33b is provided.
Is installed. The image transmission device 33a and the image transmission device 33b are connected to each other by a communication line 75 such as a telephone line.

The image transmission device 33b includes an image input / output unit 57
b, an image memory 59b, an image transmission unit 61b, and a control unit 63b. The image input / output unit 57b has a function of capturing the image 65 stored in the image memory 59b and displaying the captured image 65 on the monitor 35b.
The image transmission unit 61b has a function of inputting the image 65 transmitted from the image transmission device 33b and transferring the image 65 to the image memory 59b, and a function of outputting various settings to the image transmission device 33b.

The control section 63b has a function of controlling the entire image transmission device 33b. In order to perform various settings for observing the specimen 37, an operation unit 55b including, for example, a keyboard is connected to the control unit 63b. In the operation unit 55b, for example, scanning of the stage 41 of the microscope 31 installed on one side A, change of the magnification of the objective lens 43, transmission request of the captured image 65, and the like are performed.

The above-described microscope system is used, for example, when a place where a patient is operated and a place where the condition of an affected part of a patient is checked are distant from each other in a medical field. Specifically, a specimen 37 placed on the stage 41 of the microscope 31 is used by a specialist pathologist or the like who is at a remote place to confirm the state of the cancer cells in the affected part during surgery on a cancer patient.
Is used for observation by remote control.

Here, the sample 37 is a sample obtained by cutting a part of the affected part into thin pieces and placing it on a slide glass 37a. In such a case, first, on one side A, a specimen 37 is created from the affected part of the patient to be operated. The prepared specimen 37 is placed on the stage 41 of the microscope 31 by an inspector or the like.
Placed on top.

Next, the inspector operates the operating means 55a to set the maximum magnification used for observing the specimen 37 to the maximum magnification.
The objective lens 43 is switched. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the inspector or the like looks at the monitor 35 a or the like, and examines any three places (X1, Y) on the slide glass 37 a of the specimen 37.
1) Focus on (X2, Y2) and (X3, Y3).

At this time, the inspector selects any three points (X1, Y1), (X
Three mutually distant positions on the slide glass 37a are designated so that the area of the triangle having the vertices of (2, Y2) and (X3, Y3) becomes large.

Further, since the slide glass 37a is transparent and it is difficult to focus on the slide glass 37a, three positions to be measured may be determined in advance, and these positions may be marked. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, each time the inspector or the like focuses on each position, the operating means 55a is operated to obtain the three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z1), (X
2, Y2, Z2) and (X3, Y3, Z3) are stored in the work memory 67 of the image transmission device 33a via the coordinate reading unit 47 of the scanning stage controller 45.

The image transmission device 33a includes a work memory 67
Three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z
1) From (X2, Y2, Z2) and (X3, Y3, Z3), the inclination of the slide glass 37a of the sample 37 with respect to the stage 41 is obtained. Hereinafter, a specific example for obtaining the inclination of the slide glass 37a with respect to the stage 41 will be described.

Equation (1) is a plane equation including constants C1, C2, and C3.

(Equation 1) The expression (2) is obtained by expressing the expression (1) with respect to three coordinates as a determinant.

(Equation 2) In this example, first, three three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z1), (X2, Y
(2, Z2), (X3, Y3, Z3) are substituted into equation (2), and equation (2) is solved to obtain constants C1, C2, and C3.

By applying the obtained constants C1, C2 and C3 to the equation (1), three three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y
1, Z1), (X2, Y2, Z2), (X3, Y3, Z
The equation of the plane passing through 3), that is, the slide glass 37a
Of the stage 41 with respect to the stage 41 is obtained.

Thereafter, the inspector moves the stage 41 to a position where the entire specimen 37 can be observed, and focuses on the stage. The focused image 65 of the specimen 37 is transferred to the image memory 59a as a still image via the image input / output unit 57a when the inspector or the like operates the operation unit 55a.
It is taken in.

The image transmission device 33a includes an image memory 59a
Is transferred to the image transmission unit 61a. The image transmission unit 61a transmits the transferred image 65 to the image transmission unit 61b of the image transmission device 33b on the other side B via the communication line 75. The image transmission device 33b stores the image 65 transmitted to the image transmission unit 61b in the image memory 5
9b.

The image 65 transferred to the image memory 59b is read by the image input / output unit 57b and displayed on the monitor 35b. A pathologist or the like observes an image 65 displayed on the monitor 35b. The operation of the microscope 31 from here is performed by a remote operation of a pathologist or the like, and the image 65 of the specimen 37 is observed in detail.

The pathologist or the like inputs the position, magnification, and the like at which the specimen 37 is desired to be observed in detail from the operating means 55b. The observation position input by the pathologist or the like is, as shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal coordinate (Xa, Y
a). Horizontal coordinate of observation position (Xa, Ya)
And the magnification are set to one side A via the image transmission device 33b.
To the image transmission device 33a.

The control unit 63a of the image transmission device 33a calculates the observation position from the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) of the observation position designated by the height coordinate calculation means 69 and the above-described plane equation (1). The height coordinate Za is obtained. Next, the horizontal movement instructing unit 71 instructs the horizontal movement control unit 49 to move the stage 41 to the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) of the observation position.

At the same time, the up / down movement instructing means 73 instructs the up / down movement control section 51 to move the stage 4 to the height coordinate Za of the observation position.
Instruct 1 to move. The horizontal movement control unit 49 and the vertical movement control unit 51 receive the instructions of the horizontal movement instruction means 71 and the vertical movement instruction means 73, move the stage 41 to a predetermined position, and move to the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) of the observation position. And the movement to the height coordinate Za, which is the focal position, are performed simultaneously.

The control unit 63a controls the microscope 31 via the communication interface 53, and switches the objective lens 43 of the microscope 31 to a high-magnification lens. After this,
An enlarged image 65 of the observation position captured by the camera 39 is stored in an image memory 59a via an image input / output unit 57a.
It is taken in. Then, the control unit 63a transfers the image data in the image memory 59a to the image transmission unit 61a, and the image 65 is transmitted to the image transmission device 33b on the other side B.

The control section 63b of the image transmission device 33b fetches the image 65 into the image memory 59b and outputs the fetched image 65 to the image input / output section 57b. The image input / output unit 57b outputs the image 65 to the monitor 35b. The pathologist or the like observes the enlarged image 65 displayed on the monitor 35b, and then observes the horizontal coordinates (Xa,
Ya) is transmitted to the image transmission device 33b by the operation means 55b.
To enter.

Then, the height coordinate Za at the observation position is calculated by the image transmission device 33a, and the stage 41 is moved to the focal position without focusing manually.
The image 65 at the next observation position is displayed on the monitor B on the other side B.
Will be displayed.

In the microscope system configured as described above, three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z1), (X2, Y2, Z) of three places of the specimen 37 mounted on the stage 41 are set.
2), (X3, Y3, Z3) are previously stored in the coordinate reading unit 47.
And stored in the work memory 67, these three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z1), (X2, Y2,
From Z2) and (X3, Y3, Z3), the inclination of the sample 37 mounted on the stage 41 with respect to the stage 41 can be obtained.

For this reason, by specifying the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) of the specimen 37 at an arbitrary observation position, the height coordinates calculating means 69 allows the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) to be obtained before the specimen 37 is observed. ), That is, the height coordinate Za at the observation position can be obtained. Further, when observing the specimen 37, after moving the stage 41 to the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) at the observing position, there is no need for time for performing focusing, and actual observation can be performed after moving the stage 41. It is possible to reduce the time required for the state.

Further, before observing the specimen 37, the height coordinate Za at the horizontal coordinate (Xa, Ya) at the observation position can be obtained. The automatic focus function, which was required when moving to the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya), can be eliminated. Then, the inclination of the sample 37 placed on the stage 41 with respect to the stage 41 is determined by three horizontal coordinates (X1, Y1), (X2,
Y2), (X3, Y3) and height coordinates Z1, Z2, Z
3, the number of measurement points of the three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn) read by the coordinate reading unit 47 before observation can be minimized to three, the measurement time can be reduced, and the work can be shortened. The storage capacity of the memory 67 can be minimized.

Further, the vertical movement of the stage 41 according to the instruction of the vertical movement instructing means 73 and the horizontal movement of the stage 41 according to the instruction of the horizontal movement instructing means 71 are simultaneously performed. Before the horizontal movement of the stage 41 is completed, the vertical movement control unit 51 can move the stage 41 up and down to the height coordinate which is the focal position, and the horizontal coordinate (Xa, Y) at the observation position.
It is possible to shorten the time from the point a) is specified until the state where the observation can be actually performed.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment (corresponding to claim 1) of the microscope system of the present invention. In this embodiment, the work memory 67 of the image transmission device 33a on one side A has a storage area capable of storing four or more three-dimensional coordinates. In this embodiment, before the pathologist or the like observes the specimen 37, an inspector or the like focuses on any four places on the slide glass 37a of the specimen 37 placed on the stage 41 of the microscope 31.

Each time the inspector or the like focuses on each position, the three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z1), (X2, Y2, Z) of each position are operated by operating the operating means 55a.
2), (X3, Y3, Z3), (X4, Y4, Z4)
Is transmitted to the work memory 6 of the image transmission device 33a via the coordinate reading unit 47 of the scanning stage controller 45.
7 is stored.

The image transmission device 33a includes a work memory 67
Three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z
1), (X2, Y2, Z2), (X3, Y3, Z3),
(X4, Y4, Z4) to slide 37 of specimen 37
The inclination of the stage 7a with respect to the stage 41 is obtained. Hereinafter, a specific example for obtaining the inclination of the slide glass 37a with respect to the stage 41 will be described.

The expression (3) is obtained by combining the expression (1) of the first embodiment described above with respect to four position coordinates as a determinant.

(Equation 3) When there are four or more measurement points, the constants C1, C2, and C3 cannot be determined without using equation (3). First, for example, a method such as the least squares method is used, and height coordinates at each position are used. Expression (4), which is a conditional expression that minimizes the distance between Zn and the plane to be obtained, is obtained.

(Equation 4) Then, the three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z
1), (X2, Y2, Z2), (X3, Y3, Z3),
(X4, Y4, Z4), and constants C1, C2, C3
Ask for. By applying the obtained constants C1, C2, and C3 to the equation (1), four three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1,
Z1), (X2, Y2, Z2), (X3, Y3, Z
3) The equation of the plane closest to the coordinates (X4, Y4, Z4) is obtained.

Thereafter, the inspector or the like moves the stage 41 to a position where the entire sample 37 can be observed, and focuses on the stage. The focused image 65 of the specimen 37 is transmitted as a still image to the image transmission device 33b on the other side B by the inspector operating the operation means 55a, and the image 65 is displayed on the monitor 35b.

Thereafter, similarly to the above-described first embodiment, the image 65 is observed by remote control by a pathologist or the like on the other side B. In the microscope system of this embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. However, in this embodiment, the specimen 3
7 were measured, and the three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y
1, Z1), (X2, Y2, Z2), (X3, Y3, Z
3) Since the equation of the plane closest to each coordinate of (X4, Y4, Z4) was obtained, even if there are irregularities such as foreign matter at the measurement location of the slide glass 37a, the influence of these irregularities is minimized. Then, a plane equation can be obtained.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment (corresponding to claim 4) of the microscope system of the present invention. In this embodiment, an automatic focus function 77 is mounted on the image transmission device 33a.

In this embodiment, the height coordinate calculating means 69
As a result, the height coordinate Za is obtained from the horizontal coordinate (Xa, Ya) of the observation position designated from the other side B, and the stage 41 is moved to the observation position by the horizontal movement control unit 49 and the vertical movement control unit 51. Thereafter, the focus is finely adjusted by the automatic focus function 77. Therefore, the automatic focusing function 77 after moving the stage 41 to the observation position
The vertical movement of the stage 41 is extremely small and is performed in a short time.

Before the specimen 37 is observed by a pathologist,
The measurement of the three-dimensional coordinates of a plurality of places performed by the inspector or the like is also performed using the automatic focusing function 77. In this embodiment, the same effects as those of the above-described first embodiment can be obtained. However, in this embodiment, after the vertical movement of the stage 41 according to the instruction of the vertical movement instruction means 73, the automatic focusing function 77 Since the focus was fine-tuned at the observation position,
The load on the auto focus function 77 can be minimized, and in a microscope system having the auto focus function 77, the time for focusing at the observation position can be reduced.

In the above-described first embodiment, after measuring the three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn), the inspector or the like moves the stage 41 to a position where the whole can be observed.
Although an example in which focusing is performed has been described, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, after measuring three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn), the sample 37 is measured.
Since the inclination of the slide glass 37a with respect to the stage 41 is obtained as an equation of a plane, the height coordinate calculator 69 inputs the horizontal coordinate (Xa, Ya) at the observation position after the inspector or the like inputs the coordinate. Stage 4 which is the position
The height coordinate of 1 may be obtained, and the stage 41 may be moved under the control of the control unit 63a.

In the second embodiment, four three-dimensional coordinates (X1, Y1, Z1), (X2, Y2,
Z2), (X3, Y3, Z3), (X4, Y4, Z4)
Has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, by applying equations (3) and (4), three or more three-dimensional coordinates can be obtained. The plane equation may be obtained from (Xn, Yn, Zn); (n = 1, 2,...), And in this case, the stage 41 of the slide glass 37a of the specimen 37 with higher accuracy.
Can be determined.

[0072]

According to the microscope system of the present invention, three or more three-dimensional coordinates (X) of a sample placed on the stage are provided.
n, Yn, Zn) are read in advance by the coordinate reading means and stored in the storage means.
From (n, Yn, Zn), the inclination of the sample placed on the stage with respect to the stage can be obtained.

For this reason, by designating the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) at an arbitrary observation position of the sample, the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Y) are obtained by the height coordinate calculating means before the sample is observed.
Focus position in a), that is, height coordinate Za at the observation position
Can be requested. Further, at the time of observation of the specimen, after the stage is moved to the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) at the observation position, no time is required for performing the focusing, and the stage can be moved and the actual observation can be performed. The time until the time can be shortened.

Further, before observing the sample, the height coordinate Za at the horizontal coordinate (Xa, Ya) at the observation position can be obtained. For example, conventionally, the stage is horizontally moved at the observation position by remote control. It is possible to eliminate the need for the automatic focusing function that was required when moving to the coordinates (Xa, Ya). In the microscope system according to the second aspect, the inclination of the sample placed on the stage with respect to the stage is determined by three horizontal coordinates (X1, Y1), (X2, Y) that are not on the same straight line on the sample.
2), (X3, Y3) and height coordinates Z1, Z2, Z3
Therefore, the number of measurement points of the three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn) read by the coordinate reading means can be minimized to three, and the measurement time can be reduced.

Further, the storage capacity of the storage means required for storing the three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn) can be minimized. In the microscope system according to the third aspect, since the vertical movement of the stage according to the instruction of the vertical movement instructing means and the horizontal movement of the stage according to the instruction of the horizontal movement instructing means are simultaneously performed, the movement of the stage to the observation position by the horizontal movement controlling means is performed. Before the horizontal movement is completed, the stage can be moved up and down to the height coordinate, which is the focal position, by the vertical movement control means, and the horizontal coordinate (Xa, Ya) at the observation position is designated, and then the actual position is specified. It is possible to shorten the time until the observation can be performed.

In the microscope system according to the fourth aspect, the fine adjustment of the focus at the observation position is performed by the automatic focus function after the vertical movement of the stage according to the instruction of the vertical movement instruction means, so that the load of the automatic focus function is minimized. In a microscope system having an automatic focusing function, the time for focusing at the observation position can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a first embodiment of a microscope system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing details of a measurement position of a slide glass of a sample.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a second embodiment of the microscope system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a third embodiment of the microscope system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional microscope system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 37 sample 41 stage (stage) 47 coordinate reading unit (coordinate reading unit) 49 horizontal movement control unit (horizontal movement control unit) 51 vertical movement control unit (vertical movement control unit) 67 work memory (storage unit) 69 height coordinate calculation Means 71 Horizontal movement instruction means 73 Vertical movement instruction means 77 Automatic focus function

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A microscope system comprising: a horizontal movement control unit configured to control a horizontal movement of a stage on which a sample is mounted; and a vertical movement control unit configured to control a vertical movement of the stage. Coordinate reading means for reading three-dimensional coordinates (X, Y, Z) consisting of horizontal coordinates (X, Y) and height coordinates Z as a focal position at an arbitrary position of the specimen; At least three or more three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Yn, Zn) of the specimen;
(N = 1, 2,...), And the three-dimensional coordinates (Xn, Y
n, Zn), a plurality of the horizontal coordinates (Xn, Yn)
Height coordinate calculating means for calculating a height coordinate Za of the observation position from the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya) of the observation position of the specimen; and movement of the stage to the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya). Horizontal movement instructing means for instructing the horizontal movement control means, and vertical movement instructing means for instructing the vertical movement control means to move the stage to the height coordinate Za. Microscope system. 2. The microscope system according to claim 1, wherein said height coordinate calculating means includes three horizontal coordinates (X1, Y1), (X2, Y2), (X3, Y) which are not on the same straight line.
3) A microscope system which calculates a height coordinate Za of the observation position from the height coordinates Z1, Z2, Z3 and the horizontal coordinates (Xa, Ya). 3. The microscope system according to claim 1, wherein the up / down movement of the stage, which is controlled by the up / down movement control means, is instructed by the up / down movement instructing means.
A microscope system wherein the horizontal movement of the stage controlled by the horizontal movement control means in response to an instruction from the horizontal movement instruction means is performed simultaneously. 4. The microscope system according to claim 3, wherein the vertical movement control means focuses the observation position by an automatic focus function after the movement of the stage according to an instruction of the vertical movement instruction means. Microscope system for performing fine adjustment for the purpose.