SAMPLE OBSERVATION APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR GENERATING OBSERVATION IMAGE OF SAMPLE

• US 20150371368A1
• Filed: 06/02/2015
• Published: 12/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Evident Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: KITAGAWA, Hisao, YAMASHITA, Yusuke, MATSUKAWA, Yasunari
• Granted Patent: US 10,552,945 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6458 Fluorescence microscopy fluorescence microscopes per se G02B21/0076 and G02B21/16
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/0072 details concerning resolution or correction, including general design of CSOM objectives
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/0076 arrangements using fluorescence or luminescence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/008 Details of detection or image processing, including general computer control
• 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: G02B 27/58 Optics for apodization or superresolution; Optical synthetic aperture systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10056 Microscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4053 based on super-resolution, i.e. the output image resolution being higher than the sensor resolution
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

A good super-resolution image can be generated, while eliminating a troublesome task necessary for generating a raw image. Provided is a sample observation apparatus including a memory, which stores a first number of photoelectrons required in a raw image for generating a super-resolution image, and a main controller, which calculates the number of image data sets to be added together for generating the raw image based on the first number of photoelectrons stored in the memory and a predetermined image acquisition condition, which acquires multiple sets of image data of the same region of a sample by repeatedly detecting light from the same region based on the calculated number of image data sets, and which generates the raw image by adding together the acquired multiple sets of image data of the same region.

Claims

1. A sample observation apparatus comprising:

a storage section that stores information about an S/N ratio required in a raw image for generating a super-resolution image;

a number-of-image-data-sets calculator that calculates a number of image data sets to be added together for generating the raw image based on the S/N-ratio information stored in the storage section and a predetermined image acquisition condition;

an image-data acquisition section that acquires the image data by detecting light from a sample with the predetermined image acquisition condition;

a controller that causes the image-data acquisition section to acquire multiple sets of the image data of the same region of the sample by making the image-data acquisition section repeatedly detect light from the same region based on the number calculated by the number-of-image-data-sets calculator; and

a raw-image generator that adds together the multiple sets of image data of the same region acquired by the image-data acquisition section so as to generate the raw image.

2. The sample observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the S/N-ratio information includes a first number of photoelectrons, which is the number of photoelectrons per pixel required for obtaining a desired S/N ratio in the raw image, and

wherein the number-of-image-data-sets calculator divides the first number of photoelectrons by a second number of photoelectrons, which is the number of photoelectrons per pixel in the image data acquired with the predetermined image acquisition condition by the image-data acquisition section.

3. The sample observation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input section that allows a user to input whether or not to additionally add the image data based on the raw image generated by the raw-image generator,

wherein when an input indicating that the image data is to be additionally added is received by the input section, the controller makes the image-data acquisition section continue acquiring the image data for the same region of the sample.

4. A sample observation apparatus comprising:

an image-data acquisition section that acquires image data by detecting light from a sample;

a storage section that stores first S/N-ratio information required in a raw image for generating a super-resolution image;

an S/N-ratio information calculator that calculates second S/N-ratio information to be acquired in multiple sets of the image data to be added together for generating the raw image based on the first S/N-ratio information stored in the storage section and a predetermined image acquisition time;

a condition setting section that sets an image acquisition condition for acquiring the image data that satisfies the second S/N-ratio information calculated by the S/N-ratio information calculator;

a controller that causes the image-data acquisition section to acquire multiple sets of image data of the same region of the sample by making the image-data acquisition section repeatedly detect light from the same region within the predetermined image acquisition time based on the image acquisition condition set by the condition setting section; and

a raw-image generator that adds together the multiple sets of image data of the same region acquired by the image-data acquisition section so as to generate the raw image.

5. The sample observation apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the first S/N-ratio information includes a first number of photoelectrons, which is the number of photoelectrons per pixel required for obtaining a desired S/N ratio in the raw image,

wherein the S/N-ratio information calculator divides the first number of photoelectrons by the number of times the image data is repeatedly acquirable within the predetermined image acquisition time so as to calculate a second number of photoelectrons as the second S/N-ratio information, the second number of photoelectrons being the number of photoelectrons per pixel in each set of the image data, and

wherein the condition setting section sets the image acquisition condition such that desired luminance is obtained when a third number of photoelectrons, which is the number of photoelectrons per pixel in the image data acquired by the image-data acquisition section, satisfies the second number of photoelectrons.

6. The sample observation apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein one or more of an image processing algorithm of a filter that emphasizes a high-frequency component of the raw image, a detection gain of the image-data acquisition section, an intensity of laser light to be radiated onto the sample, a method for acquiring the image data, and a method for adding together the image data individually include a single applicable option or multiple applicable options and are employable by being arbitrarily combined by a user.

7. The sample observation apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein multiple combinations of one or more of an image processing algorithm of a filter that emphasizes a high-frequency component of the raw image, a detection gain of the image-data acquisition section, an intensity of laser light to be radiated onto the sample, a method for acquiring the image data, and a method for adding the image data sets are applicable and are employable by allowing a user to arbitrarily select any one of the combinations.

8. A method for generating an observation image of a sample, the method causing a controller to perform a process including executing control for causing an image-data acquisition section, which acquires image data by detecting light from the sample, to repeatedly acquire image data of the same region of the sample multiple times, and generating a raw image for creating a super-resolution image of the sample by adding together multiple sets of the image data of the same region repeatedly acquired by the image-data acquisition section as a result of the control, the method comprising:

causing the controller to store in advance information related to an S/N ratio that the raw image should have;

causing the controller to execute control for determining the number of the image data sets to be added together for generating the raw image based on a preset image acquisition condition for the image-data acquisition section and the stored information related to the S/N ratio and repeatedly acquiring the image data of the same region in accordance with the determined number, or control for determining information related to an S/N ratio that the image data acquired by the image-data acquisition section should have based on a preset image acquisition time and the stored information related to the S/N ratio and making the image-data acquisition section repeatedly acquire the image data of the same region within the image acquisition time in a state where an image acquisition condition for acquiring the image data, which satisfies the determined information related to the S/N ratio, is set in the image-data acquisition section; and

causing the controller to execute a process for generating the raw image by adding together multiple sets of the image data of the same region acquired by the image-data acquisition section as a result of the control.