Patent ID: 8044974

Claim:
An image creating apparatus comprising: an image pickup portion configured for picking up a plurality of images of a cell on different focal positions; and an image synthesizing portion configured for: classifying the plurality of images picked up by the image pickup portion into a plurality of depth ranges as to focal direction, wherein the plurality of depth ranges comprises a first depth range and a second depth range, a plurality of first images among the plurality of images belong to the first depth range, and a plurality of second images among the plurality of images belong to the second depth range; synthesizing the plurality of first images belonging to the first depth range by selecting pixels with a higher contrast from the plurality of first images, wherein the selected pixels from the first images are combined; and synthesizing the plurality of second images belonging to the second depth range by selecting pixels with a higher contrast from the plurality of second images, wherein the selected pixels from the second images are combined; whereby a first two-dimensional focus-synthesized image is created in focus over the first depth range based on the synthesis of the first images and a second two-dimensional focus-synthesized image is created in focus over the second depth range based on the synthesis of the second images.