Image Processing Apparatus Reducing Meniscus Effect in Cell Cultivation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The formation of a meniscus on the surface of a liquid in cell cultivation containers affects image quality in phase difference microscopy, leading to lower contrast in meniscus regions and reduced accuracy in evaluating cell differentiation states in composite images.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus that selects captured images with the highest contrast closest to the center of the container for overlapping regions, generating a composite image that reduces the meniscus effect by prioritizing images with increased contrast.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If tiled imaging is performed to acquire high magnification and wide field of view images, then the field of view and magnification are improved, but the meniscus effect causes lower contrast in captured images
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating between meniscus regions and non-meniscus regions in the image. The processing unit identifies regions affected by the meniscus effect and applies different processing strategies: images from non-meniscus regions are used as reference with higher weight, while images from meniscus regions are either excluded or given lower weight in the composite image generation, thereby maintaining high contrast in the final composite image.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the weighting parameter in the composite image generation process based on the position of captured images. Images captured from regions closer to the center of the container (non-meniscus regions) are assigned higher weights, while images from peripheral regions (meniscus regions) are assigned lower weights or excluded, thereby optimizing the overall contrast of the composite image.
2Area of stationary object
If captured images including meniscus regions are used to generate composite image, then the wide field of view is achieved, but the evaluation accuracy of cells in meniscus regions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating between meniscus regions and non-meniscus regions in the image. The processing unit identifies regions affected by the meniscus effect and applies different processing strategies: images from non-meniscus regions are used as reference with higher weight, while images from meniscus regions are either excluded or given lower weight in the composite image generation, thereby maintaining high contrast in the final composite image.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful meniscus effect into a beneficial selection criterion. By identifying the meniscus effect as a distinguishing feature between peripheral and central regions, the system uses this effect to guide the image selection process, automatically prioritizing high-quality central region images and excluding or de-weighting problematic peripheral images, thus transforming a quality issue into a useful filtering mechanism.
3Stability of the object's composition
If adjacent observation regions are set to partially overlap to prevent joint from standing out, then the composite image continuity is improved, but the meniscus effect is amplified in the overlapping regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating between meniscus regions and non-meniscus regions in the image. The processing unit identifies regions affected by the meniscus effect and applies different processing strategies: images from non-meniscus regions are used as reference with higher weight, while images from meniscus regions are either excluded or given lower weight in the composite image generation, thereby maintaining high contrast in the final composite image.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful meniscus effect into a beneficial selection criterion. By identifying the meniscus effect as a distinguishing feature between peripheral and central regions, the system uses this effect to guide the image selection process, automatically prioritizing high-quality central region images and excluding or de-weighting problematic peripheral images, thus transforming a quality issue into a useful filtering mechanism.
Data Source
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AI summary
An object of an image processing apparatus, a method, and a program is to enable acquisition of a composite image in which an effect of a meniscus formed on a liquid surface of a liquid in a container is reduced. A plurality of captured images acquired by setting a part of adjacent observation regions to overlap with each other and imaging a container a plurality of times while changing a position of the observation region are acquired. An overlapping region selection unit 51 selects the captured image having a highest contrast in the overlapping region with at least one adjacent captured image in each captured image Gi as an image of the overlapping region. A composite image generation unit 52 generates a composite image Gs by linking the plurality of captured images in which the images of the overlapping regions are selected.