Microscope

Abstract

SOLUTION: To provide a microscope comprising: an objective lens that converges light from a sample; a light split unit that splits light emitted from the objective lens into a plurality of pieces of light having different wavelength bands; a first optical system into which one of the pieces of light enters; a second optical system into which the other piece of light enters and which is higher in a magnification than the first optical system; a light integration unit that integrates one with the other piece of light; and an image sensor that receives light emitted from the light integration unit and outputs electric signals distinguishable from one wavelength band to another.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a microscope. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 states that "We provide a microscope with good operability that enables observation with a wide field of view at low magnification and high resolution at high magnification without the need to switch objective lenses, and that enables observation at different wavelengths without the need to switch filters or illumination light" (abstract). [Prior art document] [Patent documents] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-31758 Summary of the Invention

[0003] A first aspect of the present invention provides a microscope comprising: an objective lens that collects light from a specimen; a light splitting unit that splits the light emitted from the objective lens into a plurality of light beams having mutually different wavelength bands; a first optical system into which one light beam of the plurality of light beams is incident; a second optical system having a higher magnification than the first optical system and into which another light beam of the plurality of light beams is incident; a light combining unit that combines the one light beam and the other light beam; and an image sensor that receives the light emitted from the light combining unit and outputs an electrical signal that can be distinguished for each of the wavelength bands.

[0004] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the features of the present invention, and subcombinations of these features may also be inventions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0005] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a microscope 100 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of an area 30 circled by a dashed line in FIG. [Figure 3]FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating another example of a use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating another example of a use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating another example of a use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an aspect in which different observation surfaces of a specimen 20 are observed by utilizing the shift in focus of two colors of light caused by chromatic aberration of the objective lens 120. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a microscope 300 according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a microscope 400 according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a microscope 100 according to a first embodiment. In FIG. 1, solid arrows indicate electrical connections and signal flow directions. Also, in FIG. 1, the three axes X, Y, and Z are indicated by solid arrows, with the depth direction in FIG. 1 being the positive X-axis direction, the rightward direction in FIG. 1 being the positive Y-axis direction, and the upward direction in FIG. 1 being the positive Z-axis direction. Also, in FIG. 1, optical paths are indicated by arrows and bold, dashed, and dashed lines. Also, in FIG. 1, components necessary for explaining the optical system of the microscope 100 are mainly illustrated, and the housing of the microscope 100 and the like are not illustrated. The same applies to the drawings described below, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0008] The microscope 100 enables a plurality of images of a specimen 20 contained in a container 10 that is transparent to at least visible light to be simultaneously captured in one frame at different magnifications using a single imaging element. Note that the microscope 100 according to this embodiment is, as an example, a transmitted illumination upright microscope that irradiates light onto the specimen in a bright field and observes the transmitted light.

[0009] The microscope 100 includes a light source 110, an objective lens 120, a light splitting unit 130, a first optical system 140, a second optical system 150, a light combining unit 160, and an image sensor 170. The microscope 100 according to this embodiment may further include a monitor 180, a stage 190, and a controller 200. The microscope 100 according to this embodiment may further include a first mirror 210, a second mirror 220, and a zooming optical system 230.

[0010] The light source 110 irradiates light onto the specimen 20. As a specific example, the light source 110 may be a white LED, and may irradiate the specimen 20 with white light that is an even mixture of light in the wavelength band of 580 nm to 800 nm (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "red light"), light in the wavelength band of 500 nm to 580 nm (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "green light"), and light in the wavelength band of 380 nm to 500 nm (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "blue light").

[0011] The objective lens 120 collects light from the specimen 20. As a specific example, the objective lens 120 has a magnification of 20 and a numerical aperture of 0.9, and collects white light from the specimen 20.

[0012] The zooming optical system 230 is an optical system for zooming that is made up of multiple lenses. The zooming optical system 230 is disposed on the optical axis of the objective lens 120 between the objective lens 120 and the light splitting unit 130, and may be an optical system that is common to the first optical system 140 and the second optical system 150. In other words, the zooming optical system 230 has the function of simultaneously enlarging or reducing multiple images with different magnifications observed by the microscope 100.

[0013] The light splitting unit 130 is disposed on the optical axis of the objective lens 120 and splits the light emitted from the objective lens 120 into multiple light beams having different wavelength bands. The light splitting unit 130 may split the light into optical paths for each color. For example, the light splitting unit 130 may guide, among the multiple light beams from the light source 110 emitted from the objective lens 120, light beams having wavelengths longer than a predetermined wavelength to an optical path in which the first optical system 140 is disposed, and light beams having wavelengths shorter than the predetermined wavelength to an optical path in which the second optical system 150 is disposed. In the following description, light beams having wavelengths longer than the predetermined wavelength may be referred to as long-wavelength light, and light beams having wavelengths shorter than the predetermined wavelength may be referred to as short-wavelength light.

[0014] As a specific example, the light splitting unit 130 according to this embodiment may have a wavelength filter 131 and a dichroic mirror 133 arranged in series on the optical axis of the objective lens 120 .

[0015] For example, wavelength filter 131 filters out green light from the white light emitted from objective lens 120 and transmits red and blue light. In Fig. 1, the light path of the white light, i.e., the three colors, is indicated by the thickest solid line, and the light paths of these two colors that have passed through wavelength filter 131 are indicated by thick solid lines. Wavelength filter 131 may be, for example, a notch filter, a bandpass filter, a highpass filter, a lowpass filter, or the like.

[0016] As an example, of the two colors of light, red and blue, transmitted through wavelength filter 131, dichroic mirror 133 transmits the red light and guides it to an optical path where first optical system 140 is disposed, and reflects the blue light and guides it to an optical path where second optical system 150 is disposed. In Fig. 1, the red optical path is indicated by a dashed line, and the blue optical path is indicated by a dashed line.

[0017] By having such a configuration, the light splitting unit 130 according to this embodiment guides red light and blue light to different optical paths and prevents green light from reaching the image sensor 170. Note that in the light splitting unit 130, the wavelength filter 131 may be disposed on the exit side of the dichroic mirror 133 so as to filter green light that has passed through or reflected by the dichroic mirror 133. For example, the dichroic mirror 133 may pass red light and green light and reflect blue light, and the wavelength filter 131 may filter green light that has passed through the dichroic mirror 133.

[0018] One of the multiple light beams split by the light splitting unit 130 is incident on the first optical system 140. The first optical system 140 may be disposed on any of the optical paths for each color. The other light beams of the multiple light beams split by the light splitting unit 130 are incident on the second optical system 150. The other light beams may be the light beams remaining after subtracting the one light beam that is incident on the first optical system 140 from the multiple light beams split by the light splitting unit 130. The second optical system 150 has a higher magnification than the first optical system 140. The second optical system 150 may be disposed on an optical path for each color that does not include the first optical system 140. In this embodiment, the first optical system 140 is disposed on the optical path for the red color, and the second optical system 150 is disposed on the optical path for the blue color.

[0019] The first optical system 140 is an optical system for observing a low-magnification image of the specimen 20, i.e., a low-magnification image 181. The second optical system 150 is an optical system for observing a high-magnification image of the specimen 20, i.e., a high-magnification image 183.

[0020] Each of the first optical system 140 and the second optical system 150 may be, for example, a single imaging lens, an imaging optical system consisting of multiple lenses, a relay lens, or a combination of these. Note that the first optical system 140 and the second optical system 150 have different magnifications and different focal lengths, and therefore the optical path lengths of the first optical system 140 and the second optical system 150 may be adjusted so that they image light at the same position.

[0021] The first mirror 210 is positioned to deflect light from the first optical system 140 and direct it to the light-combining unit 160. The second mirror 220 is positioned to deflect light from the second optical system 150 and direct it to the light-combining unit 160.

[0022] The light combining unit 160 combines one light beam split by the light splitting unit 130 with another light beam. The light combining unit 160 may combine the light paths of the respective colors split by the light splitting unit 130. As a specific example, the light combining unit 160 is a dichroic mirror that combines the red light beam from the first optical system 140 and the blue light beam from the second optical system 150. In this embodiment, the light combining unit 160 transmits the red light beam from the first optical system 140 and reflects the blue light beam from the second optical system 150.

[0023] The image sensor 170 receives the light emitted from the light combining unit 160 and outputs electrical signals that can be distinguished for each wavelength band. The image sensor 170 may output electrical signals that can be distinguished for each color split by the light splitting unit 130. As a specific example, the image sensor 170 may output an electrical signal based on red light from the first optical system 140 and an electrical signal based on blue light from the second optical system 150 in a manner that allows them to be distinguished from each other.

[0024] The image sensor 170 according to this embodiment may include, for example, a plurality of color-filtered pixels that transmit the above-described one type of light and a plurality of color-filtered pixels that transmit the above-described other type of light, nested within each other, arranged two-dimensionally. The color-filtered pixels that transmit the above-described one type of light may transmit red light, and in this case, the color-filtered pixels that transmit the above-described other type of light may transmit blue light. As a result, the image sensor 170 outputs electrical signals corresponding to the intensity of light received by the pixels of each color as one frame of image data. The image sensor 170 may include pixels for each of the additive primary colors.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged view of the area 30 circled by a dashed line in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, symbols representing the color of light detected by each pixel among the additive primary colors are superimposed on each pixel. The symbol R represents red, the symbol G represents green, and the symbol B represents blue. The array shown in FIG. 2 is known as a Bayer array, and is widely used in digital cameras that capture color images. In the image sensor 170, a first pixel 171 with a color filter that transmits red light, a second pixel 173 with a color filter that transmits green light, and a third pixel 175 with a color filter that transmits blue light are nested within each other and arranged two-dimensionally. Note that the pixel array in the image sensor 170 may be an array other than the Bayer array.

[0026] The monitor 180 is electrically connected to the image sensor 170 and displays images for each wavelength band based on electrical signals distinguishable by wavelength band output from the image sensor 170. As a specific example, the monitor 180 may be capable of displaying, side by side, a low-magnification image 181 based on electrical signals corresponding to the wavelength band of light split into the optical path in which the low-magnification first optical system 140 is disposed, and a high-magnification image 183 based on electrical signals corresponding to the wavelength band of light split into the optical path in which the high-magnification second optical system 150 is disposed. In this embodiment, the monitor 180 is capable of displaying, side by side, the low-magnification image 181 based on electrical signals corresponding to red and the high-magnification image 183 based on electrical signals corresponding to blue.

[0027] The monitor 180 may be, for example, a liquid crystal monitor or an organic electroluminescence (EL) monitor. However, the monitor 180 may display images for each wavelength band in grayscale to make it easier for the user to observe the images for each color. The monitor 180 may also be a touch panel type that can be operated by the user.

[0028] The stage 190 may be configured to have the specimen 20 placed thereon and to be movable in two directions perpendicular to the optical axis of the objective lens 120. More specifically, the stage 190 may be an electric stage that is movable two-dimensionally in the in-plane direction of the mounting surface on which the specimen 20 is placed, i.e., in the in-plane direction of the XY plane in FIG. 1, for example, in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

[0029] The controller 200 is electrically connected to the stage 190 and controls the movement of the stage 190. As a specific example, the controller 200 may move the stage 190 in the two directions described above in order to move the target 21 selected by the user in the low-magnification image 181 of the specimen 20 displayed on the monitor 180 to the central region of the low-magnification image 181.

[0030] 1, a dashed rectangular frame 185 surrounding the target 21 selected by the user is displayed in the low-magnification image 181. In this display example, the target 21 is located in the central region of the low-magnification image 181.

[0031] The controller 200 is also electrically connected to the monitor 180 and controls the display screen of the monitor 180. As a specific example, the controller 200 may receive a signal from the monitor 180 in response to a user's operation on the monitor 180, and control the display screen of the monitor 180 in accordance with the signal.

[0032] 3, 4, and 5 are flow diagrams each illustrating an example of a use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment. When a user observes a specimen 20 using the microscope 100, the user may perform steps 1 to 9 shown as examples in FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0033] Figure 3 shows steps 1 to 3. In step 1, the user sets specimen 20, which will serve as a sample, in microscope 100. In this example, specimen 20 is a dish specimen containing nematodes with a total length of about 1 to 5 mm, which move at a speed of several hundred μm / s.

[0034] In step 2, the user first manually focuses the low-magnification first optical system 140 on the specimen 20. In step 3, the user selects the nematode (target 21) that the user wishes to zoom in on from the low-magnification image 181 on the monitor 180, for example, a touch-panel LCD monitor. In response to this, the controller 200 of the microscope 100 further moves the stage 190 in the two directions described above to move the target 21 to the central area of ​​the low-magnification image 181.

[0035] 4 shows steps 4 to 6 following step 3 shown in Fig. 3. For example, when a user selects a zoom button displayed on the monitor 180, the controller 200 according to this embodiment may cause the monitor 180 to display a high-magnification image 183 corresponding to the central region of the low-magnification image 181 alongside the low-magnification image 181. For example, the controller 200 may also move the stage 190 in the two directions described above, following the movement of the target 21, so as to position the moving target 21 in the central region of the low-magnification image 181.

[0036] In step 4, the user selects the "Zoom In" button that is pre-displayed on the monitor 180 along with the low-magnification image 181. In response to this, in step 5, the controller 200 of the microscope 100 causes the monitor 180 to display a high-magnification image 183 corresponding to the central region of the low-magnification image 181 next to the low-magnification image 181. In the illustrated example, the controller 200 causes the low-magnification image 181 to be displayed on the left side of the display screen of the monitor 180, and the high-magnification image 183 to be displayed on the right side of the display screen. Note that the color of the light used to capture each image is highlighted with one of the above-mentioned symbols R, G, or B below each of the low-magnification image 181 and the high-magnification image 183. This also applies to the subsequent figures, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0037] Step 6 indicates that after the user selects target 21 in step 3 above, controller 200 continues to move stage 190 slightly, for example, at a speed of several hundred μm / s, the same as the speed of target 21, so that target 21 is always positioned at the center of the field of view of low-magnification image 181.

[0038] Fig. 5 shows steps 7 to 9 following step 6 shown in Fig. 4. As an example, when a user selects an image analysis button displayed on the monitor 180, the controller 200 according to this embodiment may output the result of image analysis of the target 21 included in at least one of the low-magnification image 181 and the high-magnification image 183 using a predetermined method.

[0039] In step 7, the user selects a "Measure" button that is pre-displayed on the monitor 180 together with the low-magnification image 181. This button is an example of a button for image analysis. In response to the selection of this button, in step 8, the controller 200 of the microscope 100 measures the total length, bending angle, speed, etc. of the target 21 included in both the low-magnification image 181 and the high-magnification image 183. At this time, as in the illustrated example, the target 21 may be displayed with a red frame on the display screen of the monitor 180. The controller 200 may, for example, display these measurement results on the monitor 180. These measurement items may be arbitrarily selectable by the user.

[0040] In stage 9, the user uses tweezers to pick up the target 21 located in the central region of the low-magnification image 181 while observing the low-magnification image 181, taking into consideration the measurement result of step 8, for example. This completes the flow of an example use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0041] 6, 7, and 8 are flow diagrams each illustrating another example of a use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment. When a user observes a specimen 20 using the microscope 100, the flow of steps 1 to 9 shown as an example in FIGS. 6 to 8 may be performed.

[0042] 6 shows steps 1 to 3. In step 1, the user sets specimen 20, which will serve as a sample, in microscope 100. In this example, specimen 20 is a dish specimen containing sperm with a total length of about 0.06 mm, which move at a speed of 50 to 100 μm / s.

[0043] In step 2, the user first manually adjusts the focus of the low-magnification first optical system 140 on the specimen 20. In step 3, the user selects a sperm (target 21) to be zoomed in from the low-magnification image 181 on the monitor 180. In response to this, the controller 200 of the microscope 100 further moves the stage 190 in the two directions described above to move the target 21 to the central area of ​​the low-magnification image 181.

[0044] 7 shows steps 4 to 6 following step 3 shown in FIG. 6. In step 4, the user selects the "Enlarge" button that is pre-displayed on the monitor 180 together with the low-magnification image 181. In response to this, in step 5, the controller 200 of the microscope 100 causes the monitor 180 to display a high-magnification image 183 corresponding to the central region of the low-magnification image 181 next to the low-magnification image 181. In the example shown in the figure, the controller 200 causes the low-magnification image 181 to be displayed on the left side of the display screen of the monitor 180, and the high-magnification image 183 to be displayed on the right side of the display screen.

[0045] Step 6 indicates that after the user selects target 21 in step 3 above, controller 200 continues to slightly move stage 190 at, for example, 50 to 100 μm / s, the same speed as target 21, so that target 21 is always positioned at the center of the field of view of low-magnification image 181.

[0046] FIG. 8 shows steps 7 to 9 following step 6 shown in FIG. 7. In step 7, the user selects the "Analyze" button, which is pre-displayed on the monitor 180 along with the low-magnification image 181. This button is an example of an image analysis button. In response to the selection of this button, in step 8, the controller 200 of the microscope 100 measures the entire length of the target 21 included in the high-magnification image 183 and determines whether or not it has a head vacuole, thereby determining whether the sperm are good. The controller 200 may display the determination result, for example, on the monitor 180. Note that FIG. 8 shows an example of a high-magnification image 183 of a normal spermatozoon without a head vacuole and an example of a high-magnification image 183 of an abnormal spermatozoon with a head vacuole, side by side.

[0047] In stage 9, the user, for example, taking into consideration the determination result of step 8, picks up the target 21 located in the central region of the low-magnification image 181 using tweezers while observing the low-magnification image 181. This completes the flow of another example of a use case of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0048] Furthermore, the microscope 100 according to this embodiment allows, for example, a user of the microscope 100 to observe the behavior of multiple samples in real time in a low-magnification image 181 in which the specimen 20 is displayed at a low zoom ratio, while automatically tracking a target selected by the user from among the multiple samples and observing the target in a high-magnification image 183 displayed at a high zoom ratio. By using the microscope 100, the user can, for example, select a target to be picked up while observing targets that continue to be automatically displayed in the high-magnification image 183, or pick up the target with tweezers while observing the low-magnification image 181 in which the selected target continues to be automatically positioned in the central region, without having to perform the cumbersome and difficult tasks of manually moving the stage while performing zoom operations or using tweezers to bring the moving target into the observation field.

[0049] 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an aspect of observing different observation planes of the specimen 20 by utilizing the misalignment of the focal points of two colors of light caused by chromatic aberration of the objective lens 120. In Fig. 9, the optical axis of the objective lens 120 is indicated by a straight thick dashed line A, the first observation plane of the target 21 is indicated by a line L1, and the second observation plane is indicated by a line L2.

[0050] In the microscope 100 according to the embodiment described above, the light splitting unit 130 has been described as being configured to guide light having a longer wavelength than a predetermined wavelength, out of the light emitted from the objective lens 120, to an optical path where the low-magnification first optical system 140 is disposed, and to guide light having a shorter wavelength than the predetermined wavelength to an optical path where the high-magnification second optical system 150 is disposed. Alternatively, the light splitting unit 130 may guide light having a shorter wavelength, out of the two colors of light, to an optical path where the low-magnification first optical system 140 is disposed, and guide light having a longer wavelength to an optical path where the high-magnification second optical system 150 is disposed.

[0051] In this case, the microscope 100 may simultaneously capture images of light from each optical system in one frame by actively utilizing the misalignment of the focal points of the two colors of light that occurs due to chromatic aberration of the objective lens 120. More specifically, the low-magnification first optical system 140 may form an image of short-wavelength light from the observation surface L1 that is closer to the objective lens 120, of multiple observation surfaces L1 and L2 of the sample 20 in the direction of the optical axis A of the objective lens 120, on the image sensor 170. On the other hand, the high-magnification second optical system 150 may form an image of long-wavelength light from the observation surface L2 that is farther from the objective lens 120, of the multiple observation surfaces L1 and L2, on the image sensor 170.

[0052] More specifically, the low-magnification first optical system 140 may image blue light from the observation plane L1 onto the image sensor 170, and the high-magnification second optical system 150 may image red light from the observation plane L2 onto the image sensor 170. In FIG. 9 , as in the other drawings, red light is indicated by a dashed line, blue light by a dot-dash line, and mixed light of the two colors is indicated by a solid line. This allows the outline of the target 21 in the high-magnification image 183 to be a wider portion of the target 21, which may make it easier for a user to pick up the target 21 while viewing the high-magnification image 183.

[0053] In this case, additionally or alternatively, at least one of the first optical system 140 and the second optical system 150 of the microscope 100 may be configured to be movable along the optical axis of the at least one optical system in order to focus on any of multiple observation surfaces of the specimen 20 in the direction of the optical axis of the objective lens 120.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the dichroic mirror 133 has been described as being configured, as an example, to transmit the red light of the two colors of light, red and blue, transmitted through the wavelength filter 131 and guide it to an optical path where the first optical system 140 is disposed, and to reflect the blue light and guide it to an optical path where the second optical system 150 is disposed. Alternatively, the dichroic mirror 133 may transmit the blue light of the two colors of light, red and blue, transmitted through the wavelength filter 131 and guide it to an optical path where the first optical system 140 is disposed, and may reflect the red light and guide it to an optical path where the second optical system 150 is disposed. Furthermore, in these two examples, the arrangements of the first optical system 140 and the second optical system 150 may be reversed.

[0055] In the above embodiments, the light combining unit 160 has been described as being configured to transmit red light and reflect blue light from the first optical system 140, as an example. Alternatively, the light combining unit 160 may reflect red light and transmit blue light from the first optical system 140. In these two examples, the light from the first optical system 140 may be blue light, and the light from the second optical system 150 may be red light.

[0056] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a microscope 300 according to a second embodiment. The microscope 300 according to this embodiment differs from the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment in that at least one of the first optical system 340 and the second optical system 350 is a zooming optical system. This at least one optical system may include multiple lenses, and zooming may be achieved by moving any of the lenses along the optical axis. Other components of the microscope 300 according to this embodiment are similar to those of the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment, and therefore, the same or similar reference numerals as those of the microscope 100 will be used, and redundant description will be omitted. Note that in FIG. 10, these similar components are omitted by dashed lines. This also applies to the other embodiments that follow.

[0057] 10, the white light, i.e., the three-color light path, is shown by the thickest solid line, and the two-color light path that has passed through wavelength filter 131 is shown by a thick solid line. The red light path is shown by a dashed line, and the blue light path is shown by a dotted-dash line. The light path formed by combining these two color light paths is also shown by a thick solid line.

[0058] As an example, the first optical system 340 and the second optical system 350 according to this embodiment may each be an imaging optical system made up of a plurality of lenses, with any of the lenses configured to be movable along the optical axis and configured to be independently zoomable. Also, as an example, this embodiment may not have a configuration corresponding to the zooming optical system 230 included in the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0059] The microscope 300 according to this embodiment also has the same effects as the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0060] In the above embodiments, the optical path from the objective lens 120 is split into two optical paths for each color by the light splitting unit 130, and the first optical system 140, 340 and the second optical system 150, 350 are disposed in each optical path. Alternatively, the optical path from the objective lens 120 may be split into three or more optical paths for each color, and the split optical paths may be guided to optical systems with different magnifications.

[0061] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the wavelength filter 131 of the light splitting unit 130 has been described as being configured to filter green light so that the green light is not received by the image sensor 170, as an example. The wavelength filter 131 has been described as being disposed adjacent to the dichroic mirror 133. Alternatively, the wavelength filter 131 may not be provided on the input side of the dichroic mirror 133, but may be disposed on the output side of the dichroic mirror 133 in one of the two split optical paths that still includes the two colors, thereby preventing unnecessary light of the three primary colors of the irradiated light, such as green light, from being received by the image sensor 170. For example, the wavelength filter 131 may be disposed on the optical path between the light combining unit 160 and the image sensor 170, or may be disposed on the optical path through which the two colors of light are guided out of the two split optical paths.

[0062] In the above embodiments, the light splitting unit 130 has been described as being configured to filter green light using the wavelength filter 131 to prevent the green light from being received by the image sensor 170, as an example. Alternatively, the light splitting unit 130 may use the wavelength filter 131 disposed in only one of the two split optical paths to completely filter out green light from the light passing through that optical path and pass the green light through the other optical path. For example, even if the dichroic mirror 133 separates red light, green light, and blue light, green light may be mixed with the blue light, and the wavelength filter 131 may completely filter out the green light that may be mixed with the blue light. This makes it possible to clarify whether the green light received by the image sensor 170 has passed through the first optical system 140, 340 or the second optical system 150, 350. This allows the green light to be used in combination with the red and blue light that has passed through the same optical system as the green light for image generation. In other words, the number of pixels used in the image sensor 170 can be increased to increase the resolution.

[0063] 11 is a schematic diagram of a microscope 400 according to the third embodiment. The microscope 400 according to this embodiment differs from the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment in that it does not include the light splitting unit 130 and the light combining unit 160, but instead includes a third optical system 410, a light splitting unit 430, a first light combining unit 461, and a second light combining unit 463.

[0064] In Figure 11, the light path of the white light, i.e., the three colors, is shown by the thickest solid lines, the light path of the two colors is shown by the thickest solid lines, the light path of the red light is shown by the fine dashed lines, the light path of the blue light is shown by the dashed line, and the light path of the green light is shown by the coarse dashed lines.

[0065] The microscope 400 of this embodiment irradiates light from the light source 110 onto the specimen 20, and splits the light emitted from the objective lens 120 that focuses the light into three optical paths: a red light optical path, a green light optical path, and a blue light optical path.These optical paths are then guided to optical systems with different magnifications, and then recombined and received by the image sensor 170, thereby capturing images at three magnifications in one frame.

[0066] The light splitting unit 430 according to this embodiment is disposed on the optical axis of the objective lens 120 and splits the three-color light emitted from the objective lens 120 into optical paths for each color. For example, the light splitting unit 430 may guide the light with the longest wavelength of the three-color light from the light source 110 emitted from the objective lens 120 to an optical path where the first optical system 140 is disposed, guide the light with the shortest wavelength to an optical path where the second optical system 150 is disposed, and guide light with wavelengths between these to an optical path where the third optical system 410 is disposed. In this embodiment, the light splitting unit 430 guides the red light of the three-color light from the light source 110 emitted from the objective lens 120 to an optical path where the first optical system 140 is disposed, guides the blue light to an optical path where the second optical system 150 is disposed, and guides the green light to an optical path where the third optical system 410 is disposed. The magnification of the third optical system 410 may be between the magnification of the first optical system 140 and the magnification of the second optical system 150 .

[0067] As a specific example, the light splitting unit 430 according to this embodiment may have a first dichroic mirror 431 and a second dichroic mirror 433 arranged in series on the optical axis of the objective lens 120. As a specific example, the light splitting unit 430 may transmit red light and green light using the first dichroic mirror 431, while reflecting blue light to guide it to the high-magnification second optical system 150. The light splitting unit 430 may further transmit red light using the second dichroic mirror 433 to guide it to the low-magnification first optical system 140, and reflect green light to guide it to the medium-magnification third optical system 410.

[0068] The first light combining unit 461 and the second light combining unit 463 according to this embodiment each combine the optical paths of the respective colors split by the light splitting unit 430. As a specific example, the first light combining unit 461 combines the optical path of the green light from the third optical system 410 with the optical path of the blue light from the second optical system 150, and the second light combining unit 463 combines the optical path combined by the first light combining unit 461 with the optical path of the red light from the first optical system 140. The light emitted from the second light combining unit 463 is received by the image sensor 170.

[0069] The monitor 180 of the microscope 400 according to this embodiment may display a low-magnification image 181 and a high-magnification image 183 side by side, as well as a medium-magnification image, which is an image between these magnifications, or may display only one of these three types of images, or may display any two of them side by side.

[0070] The microscope 400 according to this embodiment also has the same effects as the microscope 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0071] In the above embodiments, the light source is, for example, a white LED, and has been described as irradiating the specimen with white light. Except for the case where all additive primary colors are observed as in the embodiment of Fig. 11, when only two specific colors are observed, the light source may irradiate only those two colors onto the specimen.

[0072] In the above embodiments, the microscope has been described as a transmitted illumination type in which white light from a light source such as an LED is irradiated onto a specimen and the transmitted light is observed. However, the microscope may also be an epi-illumination type in which excitation light from a light source is irradiated onto a specimen and fluorescence is observed. These observation methods may also be combined, for example, in which transmitted light is used for high-magnification and low-magnification images and fluorescence is used only for high-magnification images.

[0073] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0074] It should be noted that the execution order of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and that the processes can be performed in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a subsequent process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, this does not mean that the processes must be performed in this order. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 10 containers 20 specimens 21 Target 30 areas 100 microscopes 110 Light source 120 objective lens 130 Optical splitter unit 131 Wavelength Filter 133 Dichroic Mirror 140 First Optical System 150 Second Optical System 160 Optical Integrated Unit 170 Image Sensor 171 1st pixel 173 2nd pixel 175 3rd pixel 180 monitors 181 Low magnification image 183 High-magnification images 185 slots 190 stages 200 Controller 210 1st Mirror 220 2nd mirror 230 Zooming Optical System 300 Microscope 340 First Optical System 350 Second Optical System 400 microscope 410 Third optical system 430 Optical Splitter Unit 431 1st dichroic mirror 433 Second dichroic mirror 461 First Optical Integration Unit 463 2nd Optical Integration Unit

Claims

1. an objective lens that collects light from the specimen; a light splitting unit that splits the light emitted from the objective lens into a plurality of light beams; a first optical system into which one light beam among the plurality of light beams is incident; a second optical system having a higher magnification than the first optical system, into which other light beams among the plurality of light beams are incident; A controller; The controller comprises: A process of displaying a first image of the specimen by the one light formed via the first optical system on a monitor; A process of controlling a positional relationship between the specimen and the objective lens to move a target selected by a user in the first image to a central area of ​​the first image; and displaying, on the monitor, a second image of the specimen formed by the other light via the second optical system corresponding to the central region next to the first image based on an instruction from the user. microscope.

2. the controller controls a positional relationship between the specimen and the objective lens in accordance with the movement of the target, and executes a process of positioning the moving target in the central region.

2. The microscope according to claim 1.

3. The controller executes a process of performing an image analysis of the target included in at least one of the first image and the second image using a predetermined method based on an instruction from the user, and outputting a result of the image analysis.

3. A microscope according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the monitor is a touch panel type that can be operated by the user through a touch operation on the monitor, and the selection or the instruction by the user is performed by a touch operation on the monitor.

2. The microscope according to claim 1.

5. the light splitting unit splits the first light and the second light into light beams having different wavelength bands, a light combining unit that combines the one light and the other light; An image sensor that receives the light emitted from the light combining unit and outputs an electrical signal that can be distinguished for each wavelength band, 2. The microscope according to claim 1.

6. the image sensor includes a plurality of pixels with a color filter that transmits the first light and a plurality of pixels with a color filter that transmits the second light, the pixels being nested in each other and arranged two-dimensionally; 6. The microscope according to claim 5.

7. the light splitting unit guides light having a longer wavelength out of the one light and the other light to an optical path in which the first optical system is disposed, and guides light having a shorter wavelength to an optical path in which the second optical system is disposed; 6. The microscope according to claim 5.

8. A zooming optical system is disposed between the objective lens and the light splitting unit.

2. The microscope according to claim 1.

9. The first optical system forms an image of light having a short wavelength from an observation surface closer to the objective lens among a plurality of observation surfaces of the sample in the direction of the optical axis of the objective lens, on the image sensor, and the second optical system forms an image of light having a long wavelength from an observation surface farther from the objective lens, on the image sensor.

6. The microscope according to claim 5.

10. At least one of the first optical system and the second optical system is configured to be movable along an optical axis of the at least one optical system so as to focus on any one of a plurality of observation planes of the sample in the direction of the optical axis of the objective lens.

2. The microscope according to claim 1.

11. At least one of the first optical system and the second optical system is a zooming optical system.

2. The microscope according to claim 1.

12. the controller executes a process of displaying, on the monitor, the first image and the second image, which are images for the respective wavelength bands, based on an electrical signal that is output from the image sensor and that is distinguishable for each wavelength band; 6. The microscope according to claim 5.

13. the monitor displays the first image and the second image, which are images for the respective wavelength bands, in gray scales. The microscope according to claim 12.

14. The sample is placed on a stage that is movable in two directions perpendicular to the optical axis of the objective lens. The microscope according to claim 1 , wherein the controller executes a process of controlling a positional relationship between the specimen and the objective lens by controlling the stage.

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