Analysis apparatus, analysis program, and analysis system

• US 9,678,325 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2014
• Issued: 06/13/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Matsui, Eriko, Oshima, Shiori, Dowaki, Suguru
• Primary Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr., William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Noh, Jae N
• Application Number:
  US14/226,429
• Publication Number:
  US 20140300723A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,175 Days
• Field of Search: 348 79
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/365 Control or image processing arrangements for digital or video microscopes G02B21/361, G02B21/362 take precedence
• 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 2207/30024 Cell structures in vitro; Tissue sections in vitro
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/571 from focus
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/693 Acquisition

Abstract

An analysis apparatus includes a two-dimensional coordinate detecting unit and a three-dimensional coordinate determining unit. The two-dimensional coordinate detecting unit is configured to detect, with respect to a captured image group obtained by capturing an analysis specimen including an analysis target object at a plurality of focal depths, a two-dimensional coordinate candidate being a candidate of a plane coordinate of the analysis target object in each captured image. The three-dimensional coordinate determining unit is configured to determine, based on a position relationship of the plane coordinate candidates between the captured images, a three-dimensional coordinate candidate being a candidate of a three-dimensional coordinate of the analysis target object.

Claims

1. An analysis apparatus, comprising:

a two-dimensional coordinate detecting unit configured to detect, with respect to a captured image group obtained by capturing an analysis specimen including an analysis target object at a plurality of focal depths, a two-dimensional coordinate candidate being a candidate of a plane coordinate of the analysis target object in each captured image; and

a three-dimensional coordinate determining unit configured to determine, based on a position relationship of the plane coordinate candidates between the captured images, a three-dimensional coordinate candidate being a candidate of a three-dimensional coordinate of the analysis target object,

wherein the two-dimensional coordinate detecting unit is configured to extract a first feature amount from the captured image, detect a preliminary two-dimensional coordinate candidate based on the first feature amount, set a comparison range around the preliminary two-dimensional coordinate candidate, extract a second feature amount from the captured image included in the comparison range, and compare a feature amount of a template with the second feature amount of the captured image in a range overlapping with the template when moving the template in the comparison range, to thereby detect the two-dimensional coordinate candidate.

2. The analysis apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an evaluation unit configured to evaluate similarity between an object image located at the three-dimensional coordinate candidate and an analysis target object image by an evaluation function.

3. The analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional coordinate determining unit is configured to determine the three-dimensional coordinate candidate based on a continuous number of the two-dimensional coordinate candidate in a focal depth direction.

4. The analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first feature amount is a luminance difference between pixels of a first number of pixels, and the second feature amount is a luminance difference between pixels of a second number of pixels larger than the first number of pixels.

5. The analysis apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an evaluation unit configured to evaluate similarity between an object image located at the three-dimensional coordinate candidate and an analysis target object image by using an evaluation function using a difference between the second feature amount of the captured image included in the comparison range and the feature amount of the template when the second feature amount most closely matches the template.

6. The analysis apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the two-dimensional coordinate detecting unit is configured to calculate a luminance difference between a center portion and a peripheral portion of the captured image included in the comparison range when the second feature amount most closely matches the template and to verify the two-dimensional coordinate candidate by using the luminance difference.

7. The analysis apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the evaluation unit is configured to evaluate, by an evaluation function using the luminance difference in addition to the difference between the second feature amount and the template, the similarity between the object image located at the three-dimensional coordinate candidate and the analysis target object image.

10. The analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second feature amounts each are selected from the group consisting of a luminance of each pixel, a luminance difference between adjacent pixels, a maximum value of the luminance, a minimum value of the luminance, an average value of the luminance, a variance value of the luminance, a maximum value of the luminance difference, a minimum value of the luminance difference, an average value of the luminance difference, and a variance value of the luminance difference.

11. The analysis apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the three-dimensional coordinate determining unit is configured to determine a two-dimensional coordinate candidate group of the analysis target object when the continuous number of the two-dimensional coordinate candidate in the focal depth direction falls in a predetermined range.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing an analysis program that causes an information processing apparatus to function as:

a two-dimensional coordinate detecting unit configured to detect, with respect to a captured image group obtained by capturing an analysis specimen including an analysis target object at a plurality of focal depths, a two-dimensional coordinate candidate being a candidate of a plane coordinate of the analysis target object in each captured image; and

a three-dimensional coordinate determining unit configured to determine, based on a position relationship of the plane coordinate candidates between the captured images, a three-dimensional coordinate candidate being a candidate of a three-dimensional coordinate of the analysis target object,

wherein the two-dimensional coordinate detecting unit is configured to extract a first feature amount from the captured image, detect a preliminary two-dimensional coordinate candidate based on the first feature amount, set a comparison range around the preliminary two-dimensional coordinate candidate, extract a second feature amount from the captured image included in the comparison range, and compare a feature amount of a template with the second feature amount of the captured image in a range overlapping with the template when moving the template in the comparison range, to thereby detect the two-dimensional coordinate candidate.

9. An analysis system, comprising:

a microscope imaging apparatus;

an analysis apparatus including

a two-dimensional coordinate detecting unit configured to detect, with respect to a captured image group obtained by the microscope imaging apparatus capturing an analysis specimen including an analysis target object at a plurality of focal depths, a two-dimensional coordinate candidate being a candidate of a plane coordinate of the analysis target object in each captured image, and

a three-dimensional coordinate determining unit configured to determine, based on a position relationship of the plane coordinate candidates between the captured images, a three-dimensional coordinate candidate being a candidate of a three-dimensional coordinate of the analysis target object,

wherein the two-dimensional coordinate detecting unit is configured to extract a first feature amount from the captured image, detect a preliminary two-dimensional coordinate candidate based on the first feature amount, set a comparison range around the preliminary two-dimensional coordinate candidate, extract a second feature amount from the captured image included in the comparison range, and compare a feature amount of a template with the second feature amount of the captured image in a range overlapping with the template when moving the template in the comparison range, to thereby detect the two-dimensional coordinate candidate; and

a control apparatus configured to control the microscope imaging apparatus by using the three-dimensional coordinate candidate.