Olympus Corporation

Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Medical Systems Corporation

Hiroshi Ishiwata

Yoshihiro Kawano

Kazuo Kajitani

Toyohiko Yatagai

Masahide Itoh

Tetsuo Ikegame

Akihiro Namba

Kenji Harano

Hiroyuki Nishida

Chikara Nagano

Daisuke Asada

Hirobumi Suzuki

Keiji Handa

Ichiro Ikari

Bunryu Arashi

A phase object visualization apparatus includes: an illumination optical systemthat illuminates a phase object; an image formation optical systemthat forms an image from light from sample S that corresponds to the phase object; and light blocking unitfor blocking light, the light blocking unitbeing disposed between the sample S and an image plane formed by the image formation optical system, and including an aperture at a position decentered from the optical axis of the image formation optical system. The position of the aperture is such that an area occupied on the aperture by 0-order diffraction light from the sample S illuminated by the illumination optical systembecomes smaller than the total area of the aperture.

Phase object visualization apparatus and phase object visualization method

A phase distribution calculation method includes: moving a focal position of an optical system to a plurality of positions within a phase object, the plurality of positions being different from each other in an optical axis direction of the optical system, and acquiring an image via the optical system in each of the plurality of positions; calculating a first phase distribution of a three-dimensional region that corresponds to a plurality of images acquired in the plurality of positions, in accordance with the plurality of images; and correcting the first phase distribution in accordance with a change in the optical axis direction in a region of interest specified in the three-dimensional region.

Phase distribution calculation method, evaluation method, and image processing device

A three-dimensional position information acquiring method includes acquiring an image of a first optical image; thereafter acquiring an image of a second optical image; and performing a computation using image data of the first and second optical images. Acquisition of the image of the first optical image is based on light beams having passed through a first area. Acquisition of the image of the second optical image is based on light beams having passed through a second area. The positions of the centers of the first and second areas are both away from the optical axis of an optical system in a plane perpendicular to said optical axis. The first and second areas respectively include at least portions that do not overlap with each other. Three-dimensional position information about an observed object is acquired by the computation. The first and second areas are formed at rotationally symmetric positions. The computation performs subtraction processing using data of the first and second images, generates a subtracted image and then determined whether the observed object is displaced on the front or rear side relative to an in-focus position.

Three-dimensional position information acquiring method and three-dimensional position information acquiring apparatus

An operation device includes: a communication unit that receives signals of images of a biological sample and outputs data to a display medium, the images being captured by a microscope that converts a phase distribution into an image intensity distribution; and a calculator that calculates a first phase distribution of the biological sample from the image signals. The calculator extracts a region having a phase amount that is not less than a specified phase amount from the first phase distribution, and generates evaluation information by using the region having a phase amount that is not less than the specified phase amount, that is an indicator used when a user evaluates a state of the biological sample; and the communication unit outputs the evaluation information to the display medium.

Evaluating a pluripotent stem cell based on a region of a phase distribution image having a phase amount less than a threshold phase amount of a mitochondrion in a somatic cell

A phase contrast microscope includes a light source, an illumination optical system configured to irradiate an observation object with the light from the light source, and a magnifying optical system configured to magnify and project the observation object, the illumination optical system includes a ring slit, the magnifying optical system includes an objective provided with a phase film, the ring slit is disposed at a pupil position of the illumination optical system, the phase film is disposed at a position conjugate to the pupil position of the illumination optical system, and the following conditional expression (1) is satisfied:&#x2264;0.25&#x2003;&#x2003;(1)

Phase contrast microscope

A three-dimensional information obtaining apparatus includes an illumination optical system that illuminates a sample with a light sheet, an imaging device that has a two-dimensional imaging element and that captures an image of the sample illuminated by the illumination optical system, an observation optical system that forms, on the two-dimensional imaging element, a plurality of optical images of the sample observed from a plurality of different directions, and an arithmetic device that calculates three-dimensional information of the sample from a plurality of pieces of image data of the sample. A thickness D of the light sheet satisfies D&#x2264;8&#xb7;PP/&#x3b2;/NA when PP&#x3e;&#x3bb;&#xb7;&#x3b2;/(4&#xb7;NA) is satisfied, where PP is a pixel pitch of the two-dimensional imaging element, &#x3bb; is a wavelength of observation light, &#x3b2; is a magnification of the plurality of optical images, and NA is a numerical aperture on an object side of the observation optical system.

Apparatus and method for obtaining three-dimensional information

A three-dimensional position information acquiring method includes acquiring a first image of a first optical image, acquiring a second image of a second optical image, and performing a predetermined computation using data of the first image and data of the second image, wherein acquisition of the first image is performed based on light beams having passed through a first area, acquisition of the second image is performed based on light beams having passed through a second area, the position of the center of the first area and the position of the center of the second area are both away from the optical axis in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, the first area and the second area respectively include at least portions that do not overlap with each other, and three dimensional position information about an observed object is acquired by the predetermined computation.

A phase distribution measurement method inside a biological sample includes taking in an optical image of the sample formed by a microscope to form a plurality of images with different image contrasts; calculating a component corresponding to phase distribution of the sample and a component corresponding to other than the phase distribution, and dividing the component corresponding to the phase distribution by the component corresponding to other than the phase distribution to forma normalized phase component image; breaking down the phase component image into a plurality of frequency components; performing a deconvolution process to each of the frequency components using an optical response character corresponding to each, and calculating phase distribution of a refraction component and phase distribution of a structure component; and calculating phase distribution of the sample by compounding the phase distribution of the refraction component and the phase distribution of the structure component.

Phase distribution measurement method and phase distribution measurement apparatus

A visualization apparatus includes a light source, an illumination optical system configured to guide light from the light source to an observation target object, an image forming optical system configured to form an optical image of the observation target object on an image plane, an image pickup element arranged on the image plane, a calculation device configured to calculate a plurality of first electronic images of the observation target object obtained from the image pickup element to generate a second electronic image, and an oblique illumination control section configured to control an illumination direction of oblique illumination provided by the illumination optical system. The plurality of first electronic images include first electronic images of the observation target object illuminated from different illumination directions by the oblique illumination control section.

Method and apparatus for visualizing phase object

A scattering medium internal observation apparatus according to the present invention includes: a light source; an illuminating apparatus that guides light from the light source to an observation object that is a scattering body; and an observation optical system for observing the observation object illuminated by the illuminating apparatus, wherein the illuminating apparatus has a light-guiding member that guides light from the light source to a surface of the observation object, and a light-shielding member that covers the surface of the observation object and which shields light reflected or scattered in the vicinity of the light-guiding member of the observation object is disposed in the vicinity of an end portion of the light-guiding member on an observation object-side.

Scattering medium internal observation apparatus, image pickup system, image pickup method and endoscope apparatus

A focal position determining method determines a focal position of an objective lens focused on an observed target region in a specimen. The focal position determining method includes measuring any one of the focal position of the objective lens at a near point and the focal position of the objective lens at a far point or both so as to determine the focal position of the objective lens focused on the observed target region based on the measured focal position.

Focal position determining method, focal position determining apparatus, feeble light detecting apparatus and feeble light detecting method

A microscope is provided that enables a phase object or surface pits and projections to be observed at a relatively low image-formation magnification of 4 or lower over a wide viewing range yet in a relatively narrow spatial frequency distribution range. The microscope comprises a light source, an illumination optical system, a partial aperture located at the pupil position of the illumination optical system, an image-formation optical system, and an eyepiece optical system or an image pickup optical system, wherein the diameter of the image of a partial aperture at the pupil position of the image-formation optical system is set smaller than the pupil diameter of the image-formation optical system, and at the pupil position of the image-formation optical system there is located an element for introducing in the pupil position of the image-formation optical system a wavefront varying in size with the pupil diameter.

Methods for implement microscopy and microscopic measurement as well as microscope and apparatus for implementing them

A detection apparatus includes a differential interference contrast microscope, a device for changing the amount of retardation between the two polarized components, a device for photographing the image of an object to be observed, and a device for performing a calculation with respect to the image captured by this photographing device. In the detection apparatus, amounts of retardation between two polarized components split in an illumination optical system of the differential interference contrast microscope are detected to form two differential interference contrast images relative to the object in which the amounts of retardation between the polarized components are equal, but have different signs. Subsequently, in the two differential interference contrast images, a differential calculation and a summed calculation are performed with regard to respective corresponding pixels to obtain a differential image and a summed image. The ratio of image information between the differential image and the summed image is calculated, and from the result of this calculation, image information in a predetermined range is extracted. In this way, the phase of the object can be detected.

Method for detecting physical amount of object and optical apparatus using the same

An optical apparatus and a microscope are designed so that high resolution and a high sectioning effect are provided; a time for obtaining an output image can be reduced; it is possible to observe the interior of an object in which light is strongly scattered, without using the fluorescent pigment; resistance to vibration is strong and observations can be carried out with high resolution; and a lamination structure of an IC pattern configured on a semiconductor wafer can also be observed.

Optical apparatus and microscope

A detection apparatus includes a differential interference microscope having a light source, an illumination optical system for splitting light from the light source into two polarized components, which are introduced onto an observation object and an imaging optical system for forming an image of the observation object; a device for changing the amount of retardation between the two polarized components; a device for photographing the image of the observation object; and a device for performing a calculation on the image captured by this photographing device. In the detection apparatus, amounts of retardation between the two polarized components are detected to form two differential interference images relative to the observation object in which the amounts of retardation between the polarized components are equal, but signs are different. Image information is extracted from these two differential interference images and thereby the profile of the observation object can be detected.

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Hachioji, Japan

Hiroshi Ishiwata