US 12,146,822 B2
Particle quantitative measurement device
Noriko Ebine, Tokyo (JP); Satoshi Takahashi, Tokyo (JP); and Akira Masuya, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to Hitachi High-Tech Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 17/627,858
Filed by Hitachi High-Tech Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed Mar. 17, 2020, PCT No. PCT/JP2020/011637
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jan. 18, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/014682, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 28, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-133320 (JP), filed on Jul. 19, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0260479 A1, Aug. 18, 2022
Int. Cl. G01N 15/14 (2024.01); G01N 15/01 (2024.01); G01N 15/1434 (2024.01)
CPC G01N 15/14 (2013.01) [G01N 15/01 (2024.01); G01N 2015/1402 (2013.01); G01N 2015/1443 (2013.01); G01N 2015/1493 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A particle quantitative measurement device, comprising:
an image acquisition unit configured to acquire a sample image representing a particulate sample; and
a data processing unit configured to perform arithmetic processing on the sample image, wherein
the data processing unit is further configured
to extract a low-brightness pixel, for which I<M−kσ is satisfied for brightness I, from pixels of the acquired sample image, wherein M represents brightness for a reference image, k represents a real positive number, and σ is a calculated standard deviation for the brightness of pixels in the reference image,
to set a region as a particulate present region based on the extracted low-brightness pixel, and
to identify and recognize the particulate sample based on the particulate present region formed using the extracted pixel such that an accuracy in a count of a number of particles present in the sample image remains accurate regardless of the number of particles actually present in the sample.