Olympus Corporation

Nec Corporation

Chika Nakajima

Takashi Yoneyama

Yasuaki Natori

Yoshihisa Tanikawa

Tadashi Hirata

Susumu Honda

Yoshihiro Kawano

Tetsuya Shirota

Hideyuki Kawanabe

Provided is a microscope apparatus including a macro-image, acquisition section that acquires a macro image of a glass slide having a specimen mounted thereon; an extraction section that extracts the specimen in the acquired macro image; a block setting section that sets, when the extracted specimen is scattered to form a plurality of lumps, a plurality of blocks that include the lumps of the specimen; an area dividing section that divides an area that includes the specimen in each of the blocks into a plurality of small regions; and a micro-image acquisition section that acquires, for each of the small regions, a micro image while performing an automatic focusing operation for the specimen in the small region, in which the micro-image acquisition section searches for an autofocusing in-focus position in each of the blocks set by the block setting section.

Microscope apparatus and method for image acquisition of specimen slides having scattered specimens

It is possible to create a virtual slide of a subject of observation in a simple configuration without setting a movement pattern in advance. Provided is a virtual-slide creating device including a stage on which a sample is mounted; an objective lens that collects light from the sample; a relative movement mechanism that moves at least one of these components relative to each other in a direction crossing the optical axis of the objective lens; a position detecting unit that obtains relative position information of the stage and the objective lens; an image capturing unit that acquires a partial enlarged image of the sample; a display unit that displays the enlarged image acquired; an image saving unit that saves an enlarged image acquired by the image capturing unit each time at least one of the stage and the objective lens is moved relative to each other by a predetermined distance, based on the relative position information obtained; and an image processing unit that creates a virtual slide by forming an array of saved enlarged images based on the relative position information detected.

Virtual-slide creating device

The distribution of a fluorescent material in a specimen can be observed and the fluorescent material can be obtained as clear, highly quantitative image data. A biological-specimen observation apparatus is provided which comprises a stage on which a specimen is mounted; a position detector, provided on the stage, that detects the position of the specimen; a light source that emits excitation light or illumination light onto the specimen mounted on the stage; an objective lens, disposed opposing the stage, that collects fluorescence or reflected light from the specimen; an image-forming lens that forms an image on the specimen, collected by the objective lens; an image acquisition unit that acquires the image on the specimen, formed by the image-forming lens; an image storage unit that stores the image obtained by the image acquisition unit and positional information of the specimen detected by the position detector in association with each other; and an image processing unit that performs combining processing of a plurality of the images stored by the image storage unit on the basis of the positional information stored in association with the images.

Biological-specimen observation apparatus

An object is to easily and reliably reach an examination site. The present invention provides an examination method of carrying out in-vivo examination using an in-vivo examination apparatus capable of fluorescence examination and reflected-light examination and includes the steps of setting a reference position so as to set an examination site by carrying out reflected-light examination, switching from reflected-light examination to fluorescence examination, and moving from the reference position to the examination site.

In-vivo examination method and in-vivo examination apparatus

An examination apparatus that has a simple structure and that is capable of determining the condition inside the apparatus and improving the ease of use of the apparatus when a specimen is changed is provided. The examination apparatus includes a stage on which a specimen is disposed; an optical system configured to form an enlarged or reduced image of the specimen; a cover configured to cover the stage and the optical system; an opening and closing member provided as part of the cover; a detection unit configured to detect whether the opening and closing member is in a closed state or an open state; and a stage driving unit configured to move the state. Only when the detection unit detects that the opening and closing member is open, the stage is moved by the stage driving unit to the outside of the cover through an opening covered by the opening and closing member.

Examination apparatus

When examining a living organism exhibiting dynamic behavior such as pulsing, the dynamic behavior is suppressed and clear images are acquired. The invention provides an objective lens unit including a lens barrel for supporting optical components, wherein an end surface of the lens barrel is disposed farther towards the distal side than an optical component at the extreme distal end, and channel-shaped indented portions extending in the diametrical direction are formed in the end surface of the lens barrel.

Objective lens unit, in-vivo examination apparatus and adaptor

There is provided a method of fabricating a lateral MOS transistor, including the steps of (a) forming a gate oxide film on a semiconductor substrate, (b) forming a gate electrode on the gate oxide film, (c) forming a mask covering one of regions of the semiconductor substrate adjacent to the gate electrode, (d) ion-implanting the semiconductor substrate with impurities having a first electrical conductivity as the semiconductor substrate is being rotated around the gate electrode, at an angle relative to the semiconductor substrate to form a channel region in an uncovered region, (e) ion-implanting the semiconductor substrate with impurities having a second electrical conductivity around the gate electrode in self-aligned manner to thereby form source and drain regions. It is preferable that ion-implantation in the step (d) is carried out in the desired number of times. The above mentioned method makes it possible to form a channel region having a steep impurities-concentration profile just below the gate electrode, ensuring that performances of MOS transistor are improved, and that other MOS transistors can be formed on the same semiconductor substrate.

Method of fabricating lateral MOS transistor

A fabrication method of a semiconductor device that makes it possible to reduce the number of necessary process steps. After an insulating layer is formed on a semiconductor substructure, a polysilicon layer is formed on the insulating layer. Then, dopant atoms are implanted into the polysilicon layer so that the peak depth of the distribution of the implanted dopant atoms is located at approximately the middle level of the polysilicon layer. The implanted polysilicon layer is subjected to a heat-treatment to thereby form a dielectric region at the middle level of the polysilicon layer due to reaction of the implanted dopant atoms with silicon atoms existing in the polysilicon layer. The remaining lower and upper parts of the polysilicon layer form lower and upper polysilicon regions, respectively. Subsequently, the implanted and heat-treated polysilicon layer is patterned to have a predetermined shape. As the dopant atom to be implanted, oxygen (O) and/or nitrogen (N) is preferably used. The dielectric region is made of SiO.sub.x for oxygen only, of SiN.sub.x for nitrogen only, and of SiNO.sub.x for the combination of oxygen and nitrogen, where 0&lt;x&lt;1.

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Tokyo, Japan

Chika Nakajima