Patents by Inventor Hiroaki Kii

Hiroaki Kii has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11953498
    Abstract: An image processing device includes: a processor; and a memory encoded with instructions executed by the processor, including: imaging pluripotent stem cells with time in a culture process and acquiring a plurality of images, extracting a colony region of the cells from the image, extracting a high luminance region on the basis of a group of pixels with larger luminance values than a standard value from among pixels constituting the image, extracting an extraction target region with relatively high contrast in the colony region on the basis of the colony and high luminance regions, and outputting the extraction target region as an extraction result, wherein as a relationship among the colony, high luminance, and extraction target regions, the colony region is formed, the high luminance region is then formed therein, and the extraction target region is then formed in the high luminance region in the culture process of the cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoro Dan, Hiroaki Kii, Takayuki Uozumi, Yasujiro Kiyota
  • Patent number: 11954888
    Abstract: A device includes an image processing unit configured to calculate color information of at least one cell in a captured image and a determination unit configured to determine a cultured state of the cell on the basis of the color information calculated by the image processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kii, Shinichi Takayama
  • Patent number: 11941801
    Abstract: A device includes: a distribution information acquiring part configured to acquire, based on an image in which a plurality of cells that are cultivated in a predetermined area are imaged, distribution information relating to a distribution in the predetermined area of the plurality of cells; and a determination part configured to determine a cultivated state of the plurality of cells based on the distribution information acquired by the distribution information acquiring part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kii, Shinichi Takayama
  • Publication number: 20230237672
    Abstract: The first aspect of the present invention provides a migration ability evaluation method comprising: a trajectory generation step of generating a trajectory of movement of an object being observed of a living body on the basis of a plurality of images of the object being observed acquired by capturing observation images of the object being observed multiple times in a time-series manner; a migration ability calculation step of calculating a migration ability measure indicating the degree of migration of the object being observed in a certain direction on the basis of the trajectory of movement of the object being observed; and a migration ability evaluation step of evaluating whether or not the object being observed satisfies a predetermined condition on the basis of the migration ability measure of the object being observed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2023
    Publication date: July 27, 2023
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetsuomi TAKASAKI, Toru ICHIHASHI, Hiroaki KII, Junya YOSHIOKA
  • Publication number: 20220114819
    Abstract: A cell tracking method for performing cell tracking on the basis of a plurality of cell images captured in time series, including an extraction process of extracting a tracking region corresponding to the cell for each cell images; a tracking process of calculating a change information in a position of the extracted tracking region and tracking the cell on the basis of the change information; a determination process of determining whether or not the cell as a tracking target is in a cell division state on the basis of the cell image; and an analysis process of analyzing a movement state of the cell on the basis of the change information from which the change information in a period of the cell division state is excluded when the cell is determined to be in the cell division state in the determination process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2021
    Publication date: April 14, 2022
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toru ICHIHASHI, Hiroaki KII, Tetsuomi TAKASAKI, Takayuki UOZUMI, Yoichi YAMAZAKI, Masaki KINEHARA
  • Patent number: 11236755
    Abstract: A certain material irregularly expressed in an observation area is effectively observed. An observing apparatus includes a first observing unit performing a time lapse shooting of a predetermined observation area, a first discriminating unit discriminating whether or not a first material is expressed in the observation area based on an image obtained by the first observing unit, and a second observing unit starting a time lapse shooting relating to a part where the first material is expressed at a timing when the first material is expressed in the observation area, in which a shooting frequency of the time lapse shooting by the second observing unit is higher than a shooting frequency of the time lapse shooting by the first observing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroaki Kii
  • Patent number: 11222423
    Abstract: An evaluation device includes a state determination unit which is configured to determine a state of cells which are an observation target under non-standard conditions on the basis of information acquired from an image of cells under standard conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignees: Nikon Corporation, National Institutes Of Biomedical Innovation, Health And Nutrition
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kii, Yasujiro Kiyota, Takayuki Uozumi, Miho Furue, Mika Suga
  • Publication number: 20210301246
    Abstract: An image processing device includes: a processor; and a memory encoded with instructions executed by the processor, including: imaging pluripotent stem cells with time in a culture process and acquiring a plurality of images, extracting a colony region of the cells from the image, extracting a high luminance region on the basis of a group of pixels with larger luminance values than a standard value from among pixels constituting the image, extracting an extraction target region with relatively high contrast in the colony region on the basis of the colony and high luminance regions, and outputting the extraction target region as an extraction result, wherein as a relationship among the colony, high luminance, and extraction target regions, the colony region is formed, the high luminance region is then formed therein, and the extraction target region is then formed in the high luminance region in the culture process of the cells.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2021
    Publication date: September 30, 2021
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoro DAN, Hiroaki KII, Takayuki UOZUMI, Yasujiro KIYOTA
  • Publication number: 20210292703
    Abstract: A passage timing calculation device includes a processor and a memory encoded with instructions executed by the processor, wherein the instructions causing the processor to perform operations comprising calculating a time change in an area occupied by an extraction target region that is a region in which a striated pattern appears from a plurality of images of pluripotent stem cells captured at different times, detecting a change point of the time change in an area occupied by the extraction target region, and calculating a passage timing of the pluripotent stem cells on the basis of the change point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2021
    Publication date: September 23, 2021
    Applicants: NIKON CORPORATION, KYOTO UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Tomoro DAN, Hiroaki KII, Takayuki UOZUMI, Yoshiko SATO, Shinsuke YOSHIDA
  • Patent number: 11068695
    Abstract: An image processing device includes an image processing unit that performs image processing on an observed image in which a cell is imaged and an image processing method selector that is configured to determine an observed image processing method for analyzing the imaged cell on the basis of information of a processed image obtained through image processing of the image processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kii, Yasujiro Kiyota, Takayuki Uozumi, Yoichi Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 11035845
    Abstract: An observation apparatus includes: an area calculation unit that calculates a colony area based on an image in which a cell colony is captured; a cell number calculation unit that calculates, based on the image, the number of cells included in a target colony of which an area is calculated by the area calculation unit; and a density calculation unit that calculates, based on the area of the target colony calculated by the area calculation unit and the number of the cells included in the target colony calculated by the cell number calculation unit, a density of the cells included in the target colony.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasujiro Kiyota, Hiroaki Kii
  • Publication number: 20210133425
    Abstract: An image processing device includes: an associating unit configured to associate information on an identification element used to identify a cell in imaged cell information with information on a non-identification element serving as an element of the cell which is not the identification element on the basis of the information on the identification element and information of the non-identification element; and a status determination unit configured to determine a cell status on the basis of the information on the identification element and the information on the non-identification element associated together by the linking unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2021
    Publication date: May 6, 2021
    Inventors: Hiroaki KII, Yasujiro KIYOTA, Takayuki UOZUMI, Kazuhiro KAWASHIMA, Yoichi YAMAZAKI
  • Publication number: 20210125335
    Abstract: A device includes an image processing unit configured to calculate color information of at least one cell in a captured image and a determination unit configured to determine a cultured state of the cell on the basis of the color information calculated by the image processing unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Publication date: April 29, 2021
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki KII, Shinichi TAKAYAMA
  • Publication number: 20210110542
    Abstract: A device includes: a distribution information acquiring part configured to acquire, based on an image in which a plurality of cells that are cultivated in a predetermined area are imaged, distribution information relating to a distribution in the predetermined area of the plurality of cells; and a determination part configured to determine a cultivated state of the plurality of cells based on the distribution information acquired by the distribution information acquiring part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Publication date: April 15, 2021
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki KII, Shinichi TAKAYAMA
  • Publication number: 20200240975
    Abstract: An observation apparatus includes: an area calculation unit that calculates a colony area based on an image in which a cell colony is captured; a cell number calculation unit that calculates, based on the image, the number of cells included in a target colony of which an area is calculated by the area calculation unit; and a density calculation unit that calculates, based on the area of the target colony calculated by the area calculation unit and the number of the cells included in the target colony calculated by the cell number calculation unit, a density of the cells included in the target colony.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2020
    Publication date: July 30, 2020
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasujiro KIYOTA, Hiroaki KII
  • Publication number: 20200224663
    Abstract: A certain material irregularly expressed in an observation area is effectively observed. An observing apparatus includes a first observing unit performing a time lapse shooting of a predetermined observation area, a first discriminating unit discriminating whether or not a first material is expressed in the observation area based on an image obtained by the first observing unit, and a second observing unit starting a time lapse shooting relating to a part where the first material is expressed at a timing when the first material is expressed in the observation area, in which a shooting frequency of the time lapse shooting by the second observing unit is higher than a shooting frequency of the time lapse shooting by the first observing unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2020
    Publication date: July 16, 2020
    Applicant: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroaki KII
  • Patent number: 10656136
    Abstract: An observation apparatus includes: an area calculation unit that calculates a colony area based on an image in which a cell colony is captured; a cell number calculation unit that calculates, based on the image, the number of cells included in a target colony of which an area is calculated by the area calculation unit; and a density calculation unit that calculates, based on the area of the target colony calculated by the area calculation unit and the number of the cells included in the target colony calculated by the cell number calculation unit, a density of the cells included in the target colony.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasujiro Kiyota, Hiroaki Kii
  • Patent number: 10634151
    Abstract: A certain material irregularly expressed in an observation area is effectively observed. An observing apparatus includes a first observing unit performing a time lapse shooting of a predetermined observation area, a first discriminating unit discriminating whether or not a first material is expressed in the observation area based on an image obtained by the first observing unit, and a second observing unit starting a time lapse shooting relating to a part where the first material is expressed at a timing when the first material is expressed in the observation area, in which a shooting frequency of the time lapse shooting by the second observing unit is higher than a shooting frequency of the time lapse shooting by the first observing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroaki Kii
  • Publication number: 20190218514
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for producing neural stem cells, the method including a culture step of culturing cells using a medium that contains a TGF-? receptor inhibitor and a protein kinase C inhibitor. The method for producing neural stem cells is a method that includes a first culture step of culturing cells using a first medium that does not contain a TGF-? receptor inhibitor and a protein kinase C inhibitor, and a second culture step of culturing the cells using a second medium that contains a TGF-? receptor inhibitor and a protein kinase C inhibitor, after the first culture step. The method for producing neural stem cells is a method that includes a first culture step of culturing cells using a first medium that contains ascorbic acid or an ascorbic acid derivative, and a second culture step of culturing the cells using a second medium that contains a TGF-? receptor inhibitor and a protein kinase C inhibitor, after the first culture step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2017
    Publication date: July 18, 2019
    Inventors: Hiroaki KII, Yasujiro KIYOTA, Takayuki UOZUMI, Miho FURUE, Mika SUGA
  • Publication number: 20190087956
    Abstract: An evaluation device includes a state determination unit which is configured to determine a state of cells which are an observation target under non-standard conditions on the basis of information acquired from an image of cells under standard conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2018
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Inventors: Hiroaki KII, Yasujiro KIYOTA, Takayuki UOZUMI, Miho FURUE, Mika SUGA