Television – Camera – system and detail – Camera connected to computer
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-14
2003-11-11
Vu, Ngoc-Yen (Department: 2612)
Television
Camera, system and detail
Camera connected to computer
C348S061000, C348S135000, C348S342000, C348S373000, C396S079000, C396S429000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06646678
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a photographing system, and more particularly to an improvement in a photographing system in which a plurality of photographing methods are prepared according to a difference in a photographing object.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of biological chemistry and molecular biology, a fluorescence detecting system using a fluorescent dye as a labeling material is hitherto known. According to this system, the evaluations or the like of the arrangement of a gene, the expression level of a gene, the path and state of the metabolism, absorption, and excretion of an applied material in a laboratory mouse, and the separation, identification, molecular weight, and characteristics of protein can be performed, by reading out image information related to a sample distributing specific organism-originated materials labeled with a fluorescent dye.
For example, by utilizing the electrophoresis that causes a living cell in suspension or a biological compound (protein, etc.) in a solution to move to a positive or negative electrode through an electric field by the electric charge, a plurality of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragments are electrophoresed on a gel support body, after a fluorescent dye has been added into a solution containing the plurality to of DNA fragments. Alternatively, a plurality of DNA fragments are electrophoresed on a gel support body contained with a fluorescent dye, or, after a plurality of DNA fragments have been electrophoresed on a gel support body, this gel support body is immersed into a solution containing a fluorescent dye. In this way, a gel support body (sample) distributing specific DNA fragments (organism-originated materials) labeled with fluorescence is obtained. Within a black box shielded from external light, the obtained gel support body placed on a suitable sample tray is irradiated with excitation light for exciting the fluorescent dye employed as a labeling material. The fluorescence emitted from the gel support body is photoelectrically read out. In this way, image information representing a distribution of DNA fragments labeled with fluorescence is acquired, and based on the acquired image information, a visual image is displayed on a display section such as a CRT display, whereby the evaluation of the molecular weight of the DNA fragment and the like can be performed.
On the other hand, in the same field, a chemiluminescence method of photographing an image of chemiluminescence by employing photoelectric reading means such as a charged-coupled device (CCD) is known as a method of detecting a nucleic acid and protein in a membrane filter or the like after blotching. As an apparatus for photographing such an image of chemiluminescence, a photographing apparatus is known in which, as with the aforementioned fluorescence detecting apparatus, a membrane filter or the like is placed on a suitable sample tray and housed within a block box shielded from external light. Within this black box, chemiluminescence emitted from the membrane filter or the like is photoelectrically read out by photoelectric reading means through a lens, and in this way, image information representing a distribution of specific protein or the like reacting to a predetermined luminescent chemical material is acquired.
Here, the aforementioned photographing apparatus with the object of detecting chemiluminescence can also be used as a photographing apparatus for the aforementioned fluorescence detecting system, by further providing an exciting-light source which emits exciting light capable of exciting a fluorescent dye and an exciting-light cut filter for transmitting only fluorescence to the photoelectric reading means and preventing passage of exciting light. Therefore, a photographing apparatus adding the function of detecting fluorescence to the photographing apparatus for chemiluminescence detection has been developed.
That is, in the case of performing photographing for chemiluminescence detection, exciting light is prevented from being emitted. Also, the exciting-light cut filter is removed from the optical path of chemiluminescence, and chemiluminescence emitted from a sample is detected by the photoelectric reading means. On the other hand, in the case of performing photographing for fluorescence detection, a sample is illuminated with exciting light, the exciting-light cut filter is disposed in the optical path of fluorescent emitted from the sample, and the light source and the exciting-light cut filter are switched separately or integrally such that fluorescence alone is detected by the photoelectric reading means. Furthermore, in the case where there is a great difference in intensity between fluorescence and chemiluminescence, the quantity of light to be incident on the photoelectric reading means is adjusted by providing a variable diaphragm.
Furthermore, the aforementioned photographing apparatus can also be used as a digitizer, in which a translucent manuscript (film, etc.) or a reflecting manuscript (a photograph, etc.) is irradiated and the transmitted image or the reflected image is photoelectrically read out by photoelectric reading means through a lens, thereby obtaining a digital image. In this case, the light to be emitted from the exciting light source employs white light, not the exciting light in a band that can excite fluorescence. In this way, the quantity of light to be incident on the photoelectric reading means is limited.
Also, in the photographing apparatus thus rendering switching of photographing methods possible in accordance with a photographing object, an apparatus capable of photographing an image appropriate to the size of a sample by varying a viewing angle of view that is incident on photoelectric reading means through a lens is known. More specifically, a plurality of disposing sections each having a different distance from the lens are formed as sample-tray disposing sections on which a sample tray is disposed. A sample tray can be disposed selectively on one sample-tray disposing section of the plurality of sample-tray disposing sections. The lens is moved in the optical axis direction in accordance with the selected sample-tray disposing section, whereby focusing on the light-receiving surface of the photoelectric reading means is rendered possible.
Incidentally, it is common practice for the image signal acquired by the aforementioned photographing apparatus to be given various kinds of image processing by an image processing computer (including a personal computer (PC)) and is employed in quantitative analysis or the like. Usually, the photographing apparatus and the image processing computer constitute a photographing system.
As an example of the image processing to be performed by the image processing computer, there are various kinds of correction processing. For instance, the shading correction of correcting peripheral extinction due to the lens of the photographing apparatus corresponds to this correction processing. In this shading correction processing, the processing condition varies according to the aforementioned photographing method including selection of the sample-tray disposing section.
More specifically, when the photographing method detects chemiluminescence, the processing condition is, for example, that lens brightness data is previously obtained according to a distance from the center of the lens, this data is stored as one-dimensional profile data, and for an image signal obtained by photographing, shading correction is made based on the one-dimensional profile data. In the method of detecting fluorescence, the processing condition is, for example, that a reference sample distributing a fluorescent dye evenly is irradiated with exciting light through an exciting-light cut filter and a diaphragm of 0.85 at each position of the sample-tray disposing sections, the obtained image signal is stored as flat frame data, and based on this flat frame data, shading correction is carried out. In the digitizing meth
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Vu Ngoc-Yen
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