Olympus Corporation

Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Citizen Watch Company, Ltd.

The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.

Yoshihiro Shimada

Mitsuo Harada

Kosuke Takagi

Isao Yabe

Yuichiro Matsuo

Hisao Kitagawa

Yoshihiro Ishida

Shingo Ichikawa

Seiichi Mimura

Katsuji Komatsu

Tadafumi Fujihara

Kikuo Takenouchi

Yujin Arai

Chikara Nagano

Brendan Brinkman

Katsuo Tsukamoto

Ryo Tsutsui

Hiroshi Sasaki

Kenji Kawasaki

Tatsuo Nakata

Takahiro Sasaki

Daisuke Nishiwaki

Kazuhiko Osa

Hiroyuki Kaneko

Masakazu Shimada

Naoki Hayashi

Yasuaki Natori

Masahito Dohi

Yasushi Aono

Yasuo Inoue

Makio Ueno

Takeharu Yamaguchi

Eiji Yokoi

Itaru Endo

Hajime Takahashi

Shingo Tamano

Mitsuhiko Saito

Hiroki Manabe

Toru Kagoura

Yosuke Kishi

Kazuhito Goda

Kazumi Machida

Tsuyoshi Kawai

A microscope includes a movable stage supporting wells arranged in an array, a first imaging unit having a low-magnification objective lens, a second imaging unit having a high-magnification objective lens, a computer determining a representative position of a spheroid based on imaging data of the spheroid acquired by the first imaging unit, and a controller causing respective imaging units to sequentially acquire imaging data of the spheroid in each of the wells. The controller causes the first imaging unit to acquire imaging data for the spheroid in one of the wells, and then causes the stage to adjust the representative position to the optical axis of the high-magnification objective lens, and further causes the second imaging unit to acquire imaging data while causing the first imaging unit to acquire imaging data of the spheroid in another of the wells in synchronization with acquisition by the second imaging unit.

Microscope

Provided is a sample observation method including: bringing a gel-like transparent sample that encloses an observation target into contact with a transparent flat surface section of a substrate; and collecting light from the observation target by means of an objective lens via the substrate, in a state in which a pressing force is made to act in a direction in which the sample and the flat surface section relatively approach each other, until the contact area between the sample and the flat surface section comes to have a size allowing an effective light flux for the objective lens of a microscope to pass therethrough.

Observation method and holder for gel-like transparent sample which encloses an observation target

An inverted microscope includes a stage supporting a bottom member; an immersion objective disposed facing vertically upward such that a distal end thereof faces a bottom face of the bottom member; an alignment unit moving the stage or the immersion objective in an optical-axis direction of the immersion objective; a liquid injecting unit injecting liquid between the bottom face and the distal end; and a controller controlling the liquid injecting unit, in a state where the bottom face and the distal end are disposed with a gap therebetween, to inject the liquid onto the distal end to form a droplet, and controlling the alignment unit to bring the bottom member and the immersion objective closer to each other to bring the droplet into contact with the bottom face, thereby forming a liquid column, and moving the stage and the immersion objective relative to each other while maintaining the liquid column.

Inverted microscope and sample observation method

A light sheet microscope includes an objective, an illumination optical system, a first adjustor, a second adjustor and a controller. The illumination optical system irradiates sample with a light sheet from a direction that is different from an optical axis direction of the objective. The first adjustor adjusts a relative position between a light sheet plane on which the light sheet is formed and the objective in an optical axis direction of the objective. The second adjustor adjusts a relative position between the light sheet plane and the sample in an optical axis direction of the objective. The controller controls the first adjustor on the basis of light that is from the light sheet plane and that is detected via the objective when a relative position between the light sheet plane and the sample is changed by the second adjustor.

Light sheet microscope and control method for light sheet microscope

An immersion liquid holderis an immersion liquid holder that is used for an observation devicefor observing sample S by using an immersion method, and includes a supporting memberconfigured to support an absorption memberthat has absorbed an immersion liquid and a connection unitconfigured to relatively fix the absorption memberthat has absorbed the immersion liquid with respect to an optical system, which is an optical system included in the observation device, and to fix the absorption memberon an optical path of the optical system, by fixing the supporting memberto the observation device

Optical system, immersion liquid holder and observation device

A microscope apparatusincludes a detection optical systemthat captures light from a sample S and an illumination optical systemthat radiates an illumination light onto the sample S. The illumination optical systemincludes a cylindrical lensthat has a power in a first-axis direction and does not have a power in a second-axis direction that is perpendicular to the first-axis direction, a cylindrical lensthat has a power in the second-axis direction and does not have a power in the first-axis direction, and a scannerthat scans the illumination light in a width direction. The illumination optical systemis configured such that the first-axis direction is the width direction described above, and the cylindrical lensesandare arranged posterior to the scanner

Microscope apparatus

The present invention provides a light-field microscope including: an illumination optical system that radiates excitation light onto a sample; and a detection optical system including an objective lens that collects fluorescence generated in the sample as a result of the sample being irradiated with the excitation light by the illumination optical system, an image-acquisition element that acquires an image of the fluorescence collected by the objective lens, and a microlens array disposed between the image-acquisition element and the objective lens. The illumination optical system radiates a beam of the excitation light having a predetermined width in the optical-axis direction of the objective lens so as to include the focal plane of the objective lens onto the sample in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis.

Light-field microscope

Provided is a microscope including: a chamber storing a solution in which a cuvette accommodating a solution together with a sample is immersed and that has an index of refraction identical to that of the solution; an immersion objective lens being placed outside the chamber and collecting light from the sample; a camera acquiring an image of the light collected by the lens; a targeting section moving the lens in a direction along a detection light axis thereof; and a movable stage supporting the cuvette in the chamber so as to be movable in at least a direction along the detection light axis. Each of the cuvette and the chamber has a transparent section that can transmit light coming from the sample. The lens is placed so as to face the transparent section of the cuvette with the transparent section of the chamber interposed therebetween.

Microscope including a medium container containing an immersion medium in which a specimen container containing an immersion medium and a sample is immersed

A light sheet microscope includes an objective, an illumination optical system, a correction device, an image pickup device, a first adjustor, a second adjustor and a controller. The controller performs a first focus process and a spherical aberration correction process. The first focus process is a process in which the first adjustor is controlled on the basis of light that is from the light sheet plane and that is detected via the objective so that the light sheet plane and a focal plane become closer when a relative position between the light sheet plane and a sample has been changed. The spherical aberration correction process is a process in which the correction device is controlled so that an evaluation value of the image obtained by the image pickup device becomes greater when the first adjustor has changed the relative position between the light sheet plane and the objective.

Light sheet microscope and control method of light sheet microscope

A microscope deviceincludes: a sample container holderthat is capable of housing a plurality of sample containersand that is supported so as to be attachable, each of the sample containershousing a sample S and a first immersion medium and including a transparent section that transmits light; an illumination optical systemthat emits illumination light to the sample S via the transparent section; a detection optical systemthat detects light from the sample S via the transparent section; and a movement mechanismthat relatively moves the sample container holder, the detection optical system, and the illumination optical systemin a gravity direction. The sample container holderhouses the plurality of sample containers S in the gravity direction.

Microscope device

Provided is a microscope system including a motor-driven stage on which is mounted a culture vessel containing one or more cell clusters, each including cells having a target molecule labeled with a fluorescent or luminescent chemical; a low-magnification-image acquiring unit that acquires low-magnification images of the cell clusters in the culture vessel mounted on the stage; a detecting unit that detects the position of each cell cluster in the culture vessel by analyzing the acquired low-magnification images; and a high-magnification-image acquiring unit that, after the detected position is aligned with the optical axis of an objective lens, acquires slice images of fluorescence or luminescence emitted from the cells forming the cell cluster at a higher magnification than the low-magnification-image acquiring unit at intervals along the optical axis while the stage and/or the lens is moved to change stepwise the distance between the lens and the cell cluster.

Microscope system and microscopy method

A cell evaluation method includes: a labeling step of labeling at least some of cells constituting a cell clump with a chemical substance; an image-capturing step of acquiring a plurality of slice images of the labeled cells, for at least part of the cell clump; an evaluating step of evaluating the characteristics of the cells on the basis of the plurality of slice images; a 3D-image creating step of creating a 3D image of at least part of the cell clump by subjecting the plurality of slice images to image processing; a center-of-gravity determining step of determining, from the 3D image, a center-of-gravity position of the cell clump; and an organizing step of organizing evaluation results obtained in the evaluating step, with respect to the distance from the center-of-gravity position.

Cell evaluation method

Ocean floating installations () are disposed on the ocean. The ocean floating installations () float on the ocean with the lower part of the ocean floating installations () being fixed to the seabed by mooring ropes (). Each of the ocean floating installations () is connected at a connection part () to a cable (), which is a first cable. Each of the cables () is connected at a connection part () to a cable (), which is a second cable. In other words, the ocean floating installations () are connected to each other by the cables () and the cable (). A connection is established with the cables () at the connection parts () located on the seabed. In other words, the cables () are installed on the seabed.

Undersea cable, undersea cable installation structure, and method for installing undersea cable

A scanning optical microscope includes a light source, a light converging optical system, a stage, a scanning unit which displaces an illumination light and the stage relatively, a detecting optical system, and a photodetector. A light modulation element and a relay optical system are disposed on the light converging optical system side of the light source, and a modulated signal having only amplitude changed is input to the light modulation element, and the light modulation element is positioned such that the illumination light emerged from the light modulation element with respect to the modulated signal of a predetermined amplitude coincides with an optical axis of the light converging optical system, and a position of a pupil of the light converging optical system and a position of the light modulation element are conjugate through at least the relay optical system.

Scanning optical microscope

A microscope includes an objective lens, an imaging lens projecting light passing through the objective lens to form an image of a specimen, an image sensor located at an imaging position where the image of the specimen is formed, an illumination light source, and a reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system including a dichroic mirror introducing light from the illumination light source into an optical to illuminate the specimen with the light. The microscope further includes a relay optical system forming an intermediate image of the specimen between the objective lens and the imaging lens to relay it to the imaging lens. The dichroic mirror of the reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system is located between the relay optical system and a pupil conjugate position that is conjugate with a pupil position of the objective lens, formed between the relay optical system and the imaging lens.

Microscope with reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system

Growing community of inventors

Sagamihara, Japan

Yoshihiro Shimada