Haug J T, Haug C, Maas A, Fayers S R, Trewin N H, Waloszek D
Biosystematic Documentation, University of Ulm, Helmholtzstrasse 20, D-89081 Ulm, Germany.
J Microsc. 2009 Jan;233(1):93-101. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2818.2008.03100.x.
Abstract We present a technique for extracting 3D information from small-scale fossil and Recent material and give a summary of other contemporary techniques for 3D methods of investigation. The only hardware needed for the here-presented technique is a microscope that can perform dark field and/or differential interference contrast with a mounted digital camera and a computer. Serial images are taken while the focus is successively shifted from the uppermost end of the specimen to the lowermost end, resulting in about 200 photographs. The data are then processed almost completely automatically by successive use of three freely available programs. Firstly, the stack of images is aligned by the use of CombineZM, which is used to produce a combined image with a high depth of field. Secondly, the aligned images are cropped and sharp edges extracted with the aid of ImageJ. Thirdly, although ImageJ is also capable of producing 3D representations, we preferred to process the image stack further using osirix as it has the facility to export various formats. One of the interesting export formats is a virtual Quicktime movie file (QTVR), which can be used for documentation, and stereo images can also be produced from this Quicktime VR. This method is easy to apply and can be used for documenting specimens in 3D (at least some aspects) without having to prepare them. Therefore, it is particularly useful as a safe method for documenting limited material, before using methods that may destroy the specimen of interest, or to investigate type material that cannot be treated with any preparatory technique. As light microscopes are available in most labs and free computer programs are easily accessible, this method can be readily applied.
摘要 我们介绍了一种从小规模化石和现代材料中提取三维信息的技术，并总结了其他当代三维调查方法的技术。本文所介绍技术所需的唯一硬件是一台能够进行暗场和/或微分干涉对比的显微镜，配备一台安装好的数码相机和一台计算机。在焦点从标本的最上端依次移动到最下端的过程中拍摄一系列图像，最终得到约200张照片。然后，通过连续使用三个免费程序几乎完全自动地处理这些数据。首先，使用CombineZM对图像堆栈进行对齐，该程序用于生成具有高景深的合成图像。其次，借助ImageJ对对齐后的图像进行裁剪并提取锐利边缘。第三，虽然ImageJ也能够生成三维表示，但我们更倾向于使用Osirix进一步处理图像堆栈，因为它具备导出各种格式的功能。其中一种有趣的导出格式是虚拟Quicktime电影文件（QTVR），可用于文档记录，并且也可以从这个Quicktime VR生成立体图像。这种方法易于应用，无需对标本进行制备就可用于三维记录标本（至少某些方面）。因此，在使用可能会破坏感兴趣标本的方法之前，或者在研究无法用任何制备技术处理的模式标本时，作为一种安全的记录有限材料的方法，它特别有用。由于大多数实验室都有光学显微镜且免费的计算机程序易于获取，这种方法可以很容易地应用。
