US 2016/0109694 A1 · LASER MICROSCOPE

Abstract

With the object of expanding the dynamic range of an intensity signal and suppressing degradation of a light detecting portion, a laser scanning microscope of the present invention includes a light irradiating portion that irradiates a sample with laser light; a PMT that detects fluorescence from the sample and that outputs an intensity signal; a data processing portion that converts the intensity signal to brightness information at each pixel; a full-scale setting portion that can optionally set a normal full scale that is smaller than the intensity signal of the fluorescence from the sample when a light stimulus is given thereto and an expanded full scale that is larger than the normal full scale, as a maximum range of the intensity signal that can be converted to brightness information; and a control portion that determines whether to switch between a normal observation mode in which the brightness information of the sample when the light stimulus is not given thereto is obtained and a stimulation observation mode in which the brightness information of the sample when the light stimulus is given thereto is obtained; wherein the full-scale switching portion sets the normal full scale in the normal observation mode and sets the expanded full scale in the stimulation observation mode, on the basis of the result of the determination in the control portion.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A laser microscope comprising:

a light irradiating portion that irradiates a specimen with laser light;
a light detecting portion that detects light from the specimen irradiated with the laser light by the light irradiating portion and that outputs an intensity signal;
an information converting portion that converts the intensity signal output from the light detecting portion to brightness information at each pixel;
a full-scale setting portion that can optionally set, in the information converting portion, a normal full scale that is smaller than the intensity signal of the light from the specimen when given a light stimulus and an expanded full scale that is larger than the normal full scale, as a maximum range of the intensity signal that can be converted to brightness information by the information converting portion;
a switching determination portion that determines whether to switch between a normal observation mode in which the brightness information of the specimen when the light stimulus is not given thereto is obtained and a stimulation observation mode in which the brightness information of the specimen when the light stimulus is given thereto is obtained;
and
a setting control portion that controls the full-scale setting portion on the basis of a result of the determination by the switching determination portion so that the normal full scale is set in the normal observation mode, and the expanded full scale is set in the stimulation observation mode.

4 more elements

A laser microscope comprising:

a light irradiating portion that irradiates a specimen with laser light;
a light detecting portion that detects light from the specimen irradiated with the laser light by the light irradiating portion and that outputs an intensity signal;
an information converting portion that converts the intensity signal output from the light detecting portion to brightness information at each pixel with a prescribed first conversion coefficient and that divides the brightness information into two channels;
a scale-converting portion that converts the brightness information on one of the channels divided. by the information converting portion with a prescribed second conversion coefficient that differs from the prescribed first coefficient;
a channel-information appending portion that attaches different channel information to the brightness information in the two channels;
a full-scale setting portion that can optionally set, in the information converting portion, a normal full scale that is smaller than the intensity signal of the light from the specimen when given a light stimulus and an expanded full scale that is larger than the normal full scale, as a maximum range of the intensity signal that can be converted to brightness information by the information converting portion;
a switching determination portion that determines whether to switch between a normal observation mode in which the brightness information of the specimen when the light stimulus is not given thereto is obtained and a stimulation observation mode in which the brightness information of the specimen when the light stimulus is given thereto is obtained;
and
a setting control portion that controls the full-scale setting portion on the basis of a result of the determination by the switching determination portion so that the normal full scale is set in the normal observation mode, and the expanded full scale is set in the stimulation observation mode.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Laser microscope

Life of this patent

Laser microscope

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims10