Abstract: Provided is a cell observation apparatus and an observation method with which only an observation target cell in an region of interest is illuminated with illuminating light to prevent photobleaching of cells that are not the observation target.

Abstract: A cell image analysis apparatus and method for judging, quickly and with good reproducibility, the presence or absence of a membrane translocation reaction occurring in a cell owing to application of an arbitrary stimulus to the cell using a fluorescence microscope. The inventive apparatus has: an element acquiring as an image data a fluorescence microscopic image of a cell after the application of the stimulus; an element determining a region occupied by the cell in the fluorescence image of the cell; an element determining a contour line of the cell having a width of a predetermined number of pixels from a periphery of the region occupied by the cell; and an element judging the presence or absence of the membrane translocation reaction based on a brightness value on the contour line of the cell and a brightness value in an inside of the contour line of the cell.

Abstract: The UV-curable resin compositions for optical discs are characterized in that they comprise (A) 15-70 wt % of a (meth)acrylate monomer that has an ethylene oxide chain in the molecule, (B) 5-50 wt % of a urethane (meth)acrylate, (C) 2-50 wt % of an epoxy (meth)acrylate, and (D) 1-10 wt % of a photopolymerization initiator, in the resin composition. The glass transition temperature of cured films thereof is 10-65° C., and the maximum value of the dynamic loss factor tan ? of the cured films is in the range of 0.35-0.73.

Abstract: Provided is a microscope equipped with an automatic focusing mechanism, comprising an illumination light source; an objective lens for focusing first light emitted from the illumination light source onto an object to be detected; an illumination light source for imaging the first light that is reflected by the object to be detected and passes through the objective lens; and a focal-point detector for detecting a positional shift of a microtiter plate from a focal position of the objective lens, wherein the focal-point detector includes a focal-point-detection light source for emitting focal-point-detection light serving as second light, a focal-point detection light acquisition unit on which the focal-point-detection light is focused, and a region setting unit which can set an in-focus assessable region of the focal-point-detection light acquired by the focal-point detection light acquisition unit to any position on the focal-point detection light acquisition unit.

Abstract: An arbitrary entire region of a specimen, or a plurality of individual regions, is simultaneously stimulated without a time lag, or a strong stimulus is applied to an arbitrary region of a specimen. The invention provides a microscope apparatus including a first stimulation optical system having a galvanometer mirror that scans a specimen with first stimulus light, which applies an optical stimulus to a specimen, on the specimen; a second stimulation optical system which has a plurality of two-dimensionally arrayed movable mirrors and which switches the angle of each movable mirror so that second stimulus light, which applies an optical stimulus to the specimen, can be selectively deflected towards the specimen; and a dichroic mirror that combines a light path of the first stimulation optical system and a light path of the second stimulation optical system.

Abstract: First, image capturing is performed in the exposure time of ExpStart. If the maximum intensity value of all the pixels of an image is smaller than TransStart, the exposure time is increased and the image capturing is performed again. After that, increase in the exposure time and the image capturing are repeatedly performed until the maximum intensity value of all the pixels of the captured optical image becomes equal to or greater than TransStart. When the maximum intensity value becomes equal to or greater than TransStart, image data is transferred to a computer to be recorded on the hard disk, and the number of images recorded is counted. Subsequently, the increase in the exposure time, the image capturing, transfer and record of the image data, and count of the number of images recorded are repeatedly performed.

Abstract: A cell-image analyzing apparatus is provided with a computer, for classifying cells using plural channels of fluorescence cell images on a specimen that contains plural kinds of cells and is stained with specific fluorochromes in accordance with the kinds of cells. The cell image analyzing apparatus has an image analysis software that makes the computer function as a region delimiting mean for delimiting cell nucleus regions and cytoplasm regions in each of the plural channels of fluorescence cell images; a morphologic characteristic detecting means for detecting a morphologic characteristic on the cell nucleus regions or the cytoplasm regions delimited via the region delimiting means; and a cell classifying means for classifying the cells into kinds in accordance with the morphologic characteristic on the cell nucleus regions or the cytoplasm regions detected via the morphologic characteristic detecting means.

Abstract: A cell-image analyzing apparatus includes: a cell imaging system having an imaging optical system and an image sensor, for imaging cells that exist in a vessel; a cell-image analyzer for automatically analyzing a predetermined characteristic quantity on the cells using a cell image captured via the cell imaging system, upon delimiting cell regions; and a cell-contour emphasizing system for automatically emphasizing contour portions of images of the cells that exist in the vessel, which is arranged at a shot position of the cell imaging system.

Abstract: A sharp image showing a thin projecting part is acquired without using a complex dyeing method, and the analysis accuracy is improved. An automatic cell analyzer (1) comprises: an imaging unit (4) for capturing fluorescence emitted from a cell (S) and acquiring a cell image; an exposure changing section (5) for changing the exposure condition when the imaging unit (4) captures cell images; and a processing section (5) for analyzing the cell (S) on the basis of a plurality of cell images respectively captured under the changed exposure conditions.

Abstract: In acquisition of an image of cells, a focal position is accurately set at highly active cells rather than focusing on dead cells. Provided is an automatic focusing apparatus (8) used in a microscope (1) that image captures fluorescence emitted from cells to acquire a cell image, the automatic focusing apparatus (8) including a setting unit (5) that sets a luminance range indicating a region where viable cells exist on the basis of a luminance distribution of the acquired cell image; and a focus-detecting unit that detects a focal position on the basis of a luminance of an image of nuclei of the cells within the luminance range set by the setting unit (5).

Abstract: Provided is a microscope equipped with an automatic focusing mechanism, comprising an illumination light source; an objective lens for focusing first light emitted from the illumination light source onto an object to be detected; an illumination light source for imaging the first light that is reflected by the object to be detected and passes through the objective lens; and a focal-point detector for detecting a positional shift of a microtiter plate from a focal position of the objective lens, wherein the focal-point detector includes a focal-point-detection light source for emitting focal-point-detection light serving as second light, a focal-point detection light acquisition unit on which the focal-point-detection light is focused, and a region setting unit which can set an in-focus assessable region of the focal-point-detection light acquired by the focal-point detection light acquisition unit to any position on the focal-point detection light acquisition unit.

Abstract: Cells showing specific characters can be separated from noise, extracted, and analyzed, through processing of a cell image. It is intended to provide a cell image processor (1) comprising: a characteristic quantity measuring section (11) which processes a cell image obtained by photographing cells to measure characteristic quantities of respective cells in the cell image; a characteristic quantity distribution forming section (12) which forms the distribution of the thus measured characteristic quantities; a group forming section (13) which divides cells having continuously distributed characteristic quantities into groups in the thus formed characteristic quantity distribution; and a specific cell extracting section (14) which extracts cells having characteristic quantities falling within a predetermined range at both ends of a characteristic quantity distribution in each group, as specific cells.

Abstract: There are provided a cell image analysis apparatus or method for judging the presence or absence of a membrane translocation reaction quickly and with good reproducibility using a fluorescence microscope.

Abstract: An illumination apparatus for a cellular analysis apparatus includes a plurality of LEDs of different center emission wavelengths, a photodetector, a path sharing device for introducing light emitted from the plurality of LEDs into the common optical path, a light-introducing device located on the common optical path to introduce part of the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs passing through the common optical path into the photodetector, a feedback controller controlling turning-on states of the LEDs over preset states in accordance with the amount of light emitted from the plurality of LEDs detected by the photodetector, and an illumination light supplying device located on the common optical path to supply light which is emitted from the plurality of LEDs to pass through the common optical path and is not introduced into the photodetector through the light-introducing device, as illumination light for a cellular analysis.

Abstract: A motor-operated microscope system has a motor-operated microscope section including an illumination optical system, an electric stage, an image forming optical system having an objective lens and an image forming lens, and an image pickup device; a housing; a control device having a screen display and an arithmetic processing section; and software displaying an operating condition setting screen of the motor-operated microscope section on the screen display and controlling an operation of the motor-operated microscope section in accordance with a set condition.

Abstract: In compound screening using cell images, compounds having an effective action on cells are searched for by automated processing, to more perform existing methods for compound searching more effectively. There is provided an apparatus including an image-acquisition unit for capturing a plurality of cell images under different image-acquisition conditions; and an analysis unit for extracting a cell position and at least one feature on the basis of the plurality of cell images and for performing statistical analysis with the extracted features serving as parameters.

Abstract: First, image capturing is performed in the exposure time of ExpStart. If the maximum intensity value of all the pixels of an image is smaller than TransStart, the exposure time is increased and the image capturing is performed again. After that, increase in the exposure time and the image capturing are repeatedly performed until the maximum intensity value of all the pixels of the captured optical image becomes equal to or greater than TransStart. When the maximum intensity value becomes equal to or greater than TransStart, image data is transferred to a computer to be recorded on the hard disk, and the number of images recorded is counted. Subsequently, the increase in the exposure time, the image capturing, transfer and record of the image data, and count of the number of images recorded are repeatedly performed.

Abstract: A reaction container 101 having a substrate (102) in which a probe to detect a biologically associate substance is phase-locked, the reaction container (101) comprising a correcting section (105, 106, 107, 108, 109) to align a detection direction of a detector (129) to detect a reaction of the substrate and a direction of the substrate.

Abstract: A reaction apparatus for biorelated substances includes a reaction solution driver that drives a reaction solution that is provided for a reaction chip and contains a biorelated substance, a pressure transfer medium that is located between the reaction chip and the reaction solution driver and transfers a pressure variation from the reaction solution driver to the reaction solution, and a pressure detector that detects a pressure state of the pressure transfer medium.

Abstract: A negative ion generating medium for generating negative ions from the surface of a mother material made of aluminum or aluminum alloy. The negative ion generating medium has the mother material of aluminum or aluminum alloy covered at the surface with an anodized layer on which a rare metal separated from a rare metal solution such as zirconium salt is deposited. As the rare metal is deposited in the pores provided in the anodized layer, its negative ion generating area can be increased thus releasing a large number of negative ions. The negative ion generating medium is manufactured by electrolytically processing the mother material in an electrolyte solution of sulfuric acid doped with a rare metal salt such as lithium salt to develop the anodized layer on the surface of the mother material and deposit the rare metal on the anodized layer.