Abstract: A cell culture apparatus includes a culture tank having an inlet and an outlet, a culture-medium supplying unit that supplies a culture medium to the culture tank through the inlet, and a culture-medium discharging unit that discharges the culture medium through the outlet. The culture tank includes a division wall that can divide the internal space in a direction of gravity into an upper space and a lower space. The outlet opens into the upper space, and the division wall enables switching between a state where the internal space of the culture tank is divided into the upper space and the lower space and a state where the upper space and the lower space are in communication with each other.

Abstract: A image file creation method includes: an image pickup step of picking up an image of a living body; a treatment detection step of detecting a treatment related to the living body; and an image file creation step of creating, according to a result of the detection in the treatment detection step, an image file, for image data obtained in the image pickup step, with specimen information including information indicating that the image is an image relating to specimen collection by the treatment related to the living body, to record data of, e.g., an image of a tissue such as a cell itself and data of, e.g., an image related to the tissue such as the cell, a treatment and/or collection, enabling a plurality of institutions, facilities, etc., to easily refer to information on the tissue such as the cell.

Abstract: A cell culture container includes, in sequence from above in the gravity direction: a culture-medium holding container; a cell holding container that holds cells and a culture medium supplied from the culture-medium holding container through a supply port provided in the top surface thereof; a waste-liquid holding container that holds the culture medium discharged from the cell holding container; and a discharge mechanism for discharging the culture medium that has exceeded a predetermined level from the cell holding container to the waste-liquid holding container.

Abstract: Provided is a cell-culturing apparatus including: an incubator that can maintain an interior thereof in an environment that is appropriate for growth of cells; a cell-culturing vessel that is accommodated inside the incubator; an optical-data acquisition unit that acquires optical data of a medium in the cell-culturing vessel; a medium changing unit that changes the medium in the cell-culturing vessel; and a controller, wherein a timing at which the medium is changed is determined on the basis of a change over time in the optical data acquired by the optical-data acquisition unit.

Abstract: A image file creation method includes: an image pickup step of picking up an image of a living body; a treatment detection step of detecting a treatment related to the living body; and an image file creation step of creating, according to a result of the detection in the treatment detection step, an image file, for image data obtained in the image pickup step, with specimen information including information indicating that the image is an image relating to specimen collection by the treatment related to the living body, to record data of, e.g., an image of a tissue such as a cell itself and data of, e.g., an image related to the tissue such as the cell, a treatment and/or collection, enabling a plurality of institutions, facilities, etc., to easily refer to information on the tissue such as the cell.

Abstract: Provided is a cell-culturing apparatus including a culturing unit in which a culturing vessel is placed and an incubator in which a plurality of culturing units are placed in an interior thereof, and that can maintain the interior thereof at an environment that is appropriate for cell culturing, wherein the incubator includes openings that are provided for each of the plurality of culturing units and through which the culturing units can separately be moved into and out of the incubator, and closing means that are provided at the openings and that seals off the internal environment of the incubator from outside when the culturing unit is taken out of the incubator.

Abstract: A cell culture system of the present invention includes: a culture-medium storage part that holds a culture medium for culturing cells; a temporary holding part that is coupled to the culture-medium storage part and that is provided with a holding space for temporarily holding the culture medium supplied from the culture-medium storage part and a discharge port for discharging the culture medium; a culture-medium supply part that is coupled to the discharge port of the temporary holding part and that supplies the culture medium discharged from the temporary holding part, to a cell culture vessel; and a discharge part that discharges the culture medium from the cell culture vessel, wherein the culture-medium supply part is provided with a culture-medium intermittent supply mechanism that intermittently supplies the culture medium discharged from the temporary holding part, to the cell culture vessel in a predetermined cycle.

Abstract: A cell culture apparatus according to the present invention includes a cell culture bag and a culture tank. The cell culture bag is composed of a bag-shaped film material capable of accommodating cells and a culture medium therein. At least a part of the bag-shaped film material is formed of a porous membrane that selectively allows a substance contained in the culture medium to pass through but does not allow the cells to pass through. The culture tank retains the cell culture bag in an immersed state in a solution.

Abstract: A cell culture apparatus of the present invention includes: a body including a space for accommodating a culture container, and an opening through which the culture container is taken in and out; a door that opens and closes the opening; an optical detection unit that includes optical sensors that optically detects an instruction to open and close the opening from a user, and converts the detection by the optical sensors to a signal and sends the signal; and a door open/close unit that receives the signal from the optical detection unit and controls open/close of the opening by the door.

Abstract: A cell-culturing system includes: a solution-holding means holding a medium; and a solution-supplying means supplying the solution supplied thereto from the solution-holding means to a cell-culturing container. The solution-supplying means may supply a solution to the container via a solution dripping step. The container may be connected to the solution-supplying means at a position that is lower than the solution-supplying means in a direction in which gravity acts; the solution-supplying means may have a space in which the solution supplied thereto from the solution-holding means is made to drip; the system may be provided with a discharging port discharging the solution at a position in a container side surface at a desired height; and the solution may be discharged outside when the height of a top surface of the solution in the container reaches the port as a result of supplying the solution to the container from the solution-supplying means.

Abstract: A cell culture apparatus includes a culture tank having an inlet and an outlet, a culture-medium supplying unit that supplies a culture medium to the culture tank through the inlet, and a culture-medium discharging unit that discharges the culture medium through the outlet. The culture tank includes a division wall that can divide the internal space in a direction of gravity into an upper space and a lower space. The outlet opens into the upper space, and the division wall enables switching between a state where the internal space of the culture tank is divided into the upper space and the lower space and a state where the upper space and the lower space are in communication with each other.

Abstract: A cell culturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a culture-medium retaining unit that retains a culture medium for culturing a cell, a culture bag provided with a feed port and a discharge port, a culture-medium feeding unit that connects the culture-medium retaining unit and the feed port and that feeds the culture medium from the culture-medium retaining unit to the culture bag, a negative-pressure supplying unit that supplies negative pressure to the discharge port, and a waste retaining unit that retains the culture medium from the discharge port.

Abstract: A plurality of mounting devices are selectively exchanged while keeping the same parfocal distances for objective lenses among these mounting devices. A microscope system includes a microscope main unit and a plurality of attachable/detachable objective lens units that are selectively attached to the microscope main unit. The microscope main unit includes raising mechanism that can move the attached objective lens unit in an optical axis direction. The plurality of objective lens units have a revolver or a nosepiece that can be attached to the microscope main unit and an objective lens that can be mounted on the revolver or the nosepieces in an attachable/detachable manner. Distances from an attachment position in the microscope main unit for the revolver or the nosepiece to focal positions of the objective lenses are set to be mutually equal among the objective lens units.

Abstract: Supply and discharge of a solution, such as a medium, in a cell culture bag are easily controlled. Provided is a system including a sac-like cell culture bag having a supply port for supplying a solution, such as a medium, to the inside and having a discharge port for discharging the solution, such as a medium, from the inside, wherein gate opening and closing means for opening and closing inner holes of the supply port and the discharge port are attached to the supply port and the discharge port, and the gate opening and closing means are controlled to easily exchange the medium or the like in the cell culture bag.

Abstract: A plurality of mounting devices are selectively exchanged while keeping the same parfocal distances for objective lenses among these mounting devices. A microscope system includes a microscope main unit and a plurality of attachable/detachable objective lens units that are selectively attached to the microscope main unit. The microscope main unit includes raising mechanism that can move the attached objective lens unit in an optical axis direction. The plurality of objective lens units have a revolver or a nosepiece that can be attached to the microscope main unit and an objective lens that can be mounted on the revolver or the nosepieces in an attachable/detachable manner. Distances from an attachment position in the microscope main unit for the revolver or the nosepiece to focal positions of the objective lenses are set to be mutually equal among the objective lens units.

Abstract: An easily viewable examination image in which blurring occurring in an image is reduced without operating an examination optical system in real time matching the motion of a specimen is obtained. There is provided an examination method comprising, prior to examining an examination site of a specimen, acquiring an image of the specimen surface of an examination region including the examination site, over a predetermined time range; extracting a plurality of feature points by processing the acquired image of the specimen surface; calculating a motion trajectory for each of the extracted feature points over the time range; and disposing an optical axis of an examination optical system at a position where the motion trajectory of a feature point disposed in the examination site is minimized.

Abstract: An easily viewable examination image in which blurring occurring in an image is reduced without operating an examination optical system in real time matching the motion of a specimen is obtained. There is provided an examination method comprising, prior to examining an examination site of a specimen, acquiring an image of the specimen surface of an examination region including the examination site, over a predetermined time range; extracting a plurality of feature points by processing the acquired image of the specimen surface; calculating a motion trajectory for each of the extracted feature points over the time range; and disposing an optical axis of an examination optical system at a position where the motion trajectory of a feature point disposed in the examination site is minimized.

Abstract: The invention provides an in-vivo examination apparatus that can examine a minute examination site in a living organism with a simple configuration. The invention provides an in-vivo examination apparatus comprising a light source; a flexible light-conveying member that transmits light from the light source to irradiate the light from an end face thereof onto an examination site and that receives return light returning from the examination site at the end face thereof to transmit the return light; a long thin insertion part in which the light-conveying member is disposed along the longitudinal direction thereof; and an optical detector that detects the return light from biological tissue, which is transmitted through the insertion part via the light-conveying member.

Abstract: An easily viewable examination image in which blurring occurring in an image is reduced without operating an examination optical system in real time matching the motion of a specimen is obtained. There is provided an examination method comprising, prior to examining an examination site of a specimen, acquiring an image of the specimen surface of an examination region including the examination site, over a predetermined time range; extracting a plurality of feature points by processing the acquired image of the specimen surface; calculating a motion trajectory for each of the extracted feature points over the time range; and disposing an optical axis of an examination optical system at a position where the motion trajectory of a feature point disposed in the examination site is minimized.

Abstract: A laser scanning-type confocal microscope is provided, which can obtain a clear image at all times without being affected by pulsation or the like of a sample. The laser scanning-type confocal microscope comprises an abutting member at an end of an objective optical system to be arranged close to the sample, which is capable of moving in an optical axis direction and being positioned at a desired position in the optical axis direction with respect to the objective optical system.