Microscope Shading Correction via Self-Service TRIZ
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing microscope systems face issues with brightness unevenness (shading) in acquired images due to uneven illumination and optical system nonuniformity, leading to unnatural artifacts like vertical or horizontal stripes, especially when creating virtual-slide images by stitching multiple images together.
Innovation Solution
A microscope system that includes an objective lens, image acquisition means, a moving mechanism for relative movement between the specimen and objective lens, a virtual-slide image generation means, a correction-region searching mechanism, a data generation means for acquiring shading-correction data, and a shading correction means using this data to correct for brightness unevenness in the images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If multiple images are stitched together to create virtual-slide images, then the field of view is expanded, but brightness unevenness and shading artifacts appear at image-joining portions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary shading correction by acquiring calibration images and generating shading-correction data before final image stitching. This preliminary action prevents brightness unevenness from appearing in the final virtual-slide image, resolving the contradiction between expanded field of view and brightness uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces shading-correction data as an intermediary element between the raw stitched images and the final output. This intermediary corrects brightness unevenness by compensating for illumination variations and optical system nonuniformities, allowing large-field images to maintain uniformity despite being composed of multiple stitched sections.
2Manufacturing precision
If shading correction is performed using calibration samples, then brightness uniformity is improved, but additional equipment and time are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-correction by using the specimen images themselves to generate shading-correction data. The correction-region searching means identifies appropriate regions within the specimen images, and the correction-data generating means creates shading-correction data from these regions, eliminating the need for separate calibration samples or equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the specimen images serve dual purposes: both as the observation target and as the source for generating shading-correction data. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated calibration samples, reducing device complexity while maintaining brightness uniformity correction capability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the optical system or specimen state changes, then observation flexibility is improved, but shading artifacts reappear requiring re-correction
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously or periodically acquiring new shading-correction data based on current optical and specimen conditions. When changes occur, the correction-region searching means identifies updated regions, and new correction data is generated to reflect current state, ensuring reliable correction adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the static shading correction into a dynamic process where correction data can be updated whenever optical or specimen conditions change. This dynamic approach maintains both observation flexibility and correction reliability by adapting to changing conditions rather than relying on fixed correction parameters.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively generates virtual-slide images without shading artifacts by acquiring and correcting for brightness variations, ensuring high-quality images even with changes in the optical or specimen states.
Implementation Method 1
an objective lens that collects light coming from a specimen
Data Source
AI summary
A microscope system including an objective lens, a camera for capturing an image of light that comes from a specimen and that is collected by the objective lens, a stage for moving the specimen and the objective lens relative to each other in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis, a controller implementing a VS-image generation for generating a VS image by joining a plurality of microscope-image groups that are acquired while moving the objective lens and the specimen relative to each other, a correction-region search for searching for a correction region for acquiring a correction image, a correction-data generation for generating shading-correction data based on the correction image acquired for the searched-for correction region, and a shading correction for performing correction by using the generated shading-correction data.