IMAGE ANALYSIS METHOD AND IMAGE ANALYSIS APPARATUS

• US 20110317910A1
• Filed: 06/24/2011
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Suzuki, Akemi
• Granted Patent: US 8,908,993 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/154
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/367 providing an output produced by processing a plurality of individual source images, e.g. image tiling, montage, composite images, depth sectioning, image comparison
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10056 Microscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10064 Fluorescence image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30024 Cell structures in vitro; Tissue sections in vitro
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/97 Determining parameters from multiple pictures depth or shape recovery from multiple images G06T7/55; stereo camera calibration G06T7/85
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/69 Microscopic objects, e.g. biological cells or cellular parts

Abstract

An image analysis method includes acquiring images of spatially different analysis regions. Each of the images of the analysis regions is constituted by pixels including a plurality of data acquired simultaneously or time-serially. The method further includes obtaining a cross-correlation between two analysis regions by using data of pixels of images of the analysis regions.

Claims

1. An image analysis method comprising:

acquiring images of spatially different analysis regions, each of the images of the analysis regions being constituted by pixels including a plurality of data acquired simultaneously or time-serially, respectively; and

obtaining a cross-correlation between two analysis regions by using data of pixels of the images of the analysis regions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the acquiring images of analysis regions comprising:

acquiring an image of an observation region including the analysis regions, the image of the observation region being constituted by pixels including a plurality of data acquired simultaneously or time-serially, respectively;

setting the analysis regions for the image of the observation region; and

extracting data of pixels corresponding to the analysis regions from the image of the observation region.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the acquiring the image of the observation region acquires images of frames of the observation region.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the obtaining the cross-correlation obtains the cross-correlation by using any one of a fluorescence intensity, a pixel time, a line time, a frame time, a pixel positional relationship, a pixel size, and a statistical value thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the acquiring the images of the analysis regions acquires images of the analysis regions respectively by using optical systems.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the acquiring the images of the analysis regions simultaneously acquires images of the analysis regions.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the acquiring the images of the analysis regions acquires images of frames of the analysis regions.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the obtaining the cross-correlation obtains the cross-correlation by using any one of a fluorescence intensity, a pixel time, a line time, a frame time, a pixel positional relationship, a pixel size, and a statistical value thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the cross-correlation obtains the cross-correlation by using any one of an average value, a maximum value, a minimum value, a relative difference, and an absolute difference of the data.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the cross-correlation obtains the cross-correlation by using reconstructed data obtained by reconstructing the data

11. The method of claim 1, wherein each image of the analysis regions is a two-dimensional image, the two analysis regions, between which the cross-correlation is obtained, comprise an analysis region 1 and an analysis region 2, and the obtaining the cross-correlation performs correlation calculation by using equation (1) and fitting for the correlation calculation result by using equation (2) to obtain the cross-correlation between the two-dimensional analysis regions:

12. The method of claim 1, wherein each image of the analysis regions is a three-dimensional image, the two analysis regions, between which the cross-correlation is obtained, are an analysis region 1 and an analysis region 2, and the obtaining the cross-correlation performs correlation calculation by using equation (3) and fitting for the correlation calculation result by using equation (4) to obtain the cross-correlation between the three-dimensional analysis regions:

13. An image analysis apparatus comprising:

an analysis region image acquisition unit configured to acquire images of spatially different analysis regions, each of the images of the analysis regions being constituted by pixels including a plurality of data acquired simultaneously or time-serially, respectively; and

a correlation analysis unit configured to obtain a cross-correlation between two analysis regions by using data of pixels of the images of the analysis regions.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the analysis region image acquisition unit comprising:

an observation region image acquisition unit configured to acquire an image of an observation region including the analysis regions, the image of the observation region being constituted by pixels including a plurality of data acquired simultaneously or time-serially, respectively;

an analysis region setting unit configured to set the analysis regions for the image of the observation region; and

a data extraction unit configured to extract data of pixels corresponding to the analysis regions from the image of the observation region.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the observation region image acquisition unit acquires images of frames of the observation region.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the correlation analysis unit obtains the cross-correlation by using any one of a fluorescence intensity, a pixel time, a line time, a frame time, a pixel positional relationship, a pixel size, and a statistical value thereof.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the analysis region image acquisition unit includes optical systems configured to respectively acquire images of the analysis regions.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the analysis region image acquisition unit simultaneously acquires images of the analysis regions.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the analysis region image acquisition unit acquires images of frames of the analysis regions.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the correlation analysis unit obtains the cross-correlation by using any one of a fluorescence intensity, a pixel time, a line time, a frame time, a pixel positional relationship, a pixel size, and a statistical value thereof.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the correlation analysis unit obtains the cross-correlation by using any one of an average value, a maximum value, a minimum value, a relative difference, and an absolute difference of the data.

22. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the correlation analysis unit obtains the cross-correlation by using reconstructed data obtained by reconstructing the data.

23. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein each image of the analysis regions is a two-dimensional image, the two analysis regions, between which the cross-correlation is obtained, are an analysis region 1 and an analysis region 2, and the correlation analysis unit performs correlation calculation by using equation (5) and fitting for the correlation calculation result by using equation (6) to obtain the cross-correlation between the two-dimensional analysis regions:

24. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein each image of the analysis region is a three-dimensional image, the two analysis regions, between which the cross-correlation is obtained, are an analysis region 1 and an analysis region 2, and the correlation analysis unit performs correlation calculation by using equation (7) and fitting for the correlation calculation result by using equation (8) to obtain the cross-correlation of the three-dimensional analysis regions: