Microorganism Tracking Microscope Using High-Speed Vision System

This paper describes a noble microscope system that can track a swimming microorganism in the center of view field using high-speed visual feedback. The target specimen was tracked by moving its container by a computer controlled XYZ-stage. Target position was extracted from images captured at 1000 fps by a high-speed vision system mounted on the microscope. In this paper, the reason why such high-speed visual feedback is essential for the visual tracking function is discussed. Successful tracking of a freely swimming paramecium and a spermatozoa demonstrated validity of the tracking microscope.