US Patent 8705865 Image analysis method and image analysis apparatus

An image analysis method includes acquiring an image of an observation region including a plurality of pixels respectively having a plurality of time serially acquired data, setting an analysis region on the image of the observation region, setting a sub analysis region smaller than the analysis region, intermittently moving the sub analysis region in increments of a pixel interval over the entire analysis region, executing correlation analysis using data of pixels in the sub analysis region every time the sub analysis region is moved, so as to estimate at least a molecular number or a diffusion constant of the sub analysis region, and forming a molecular number or diffusion constant image by mapping the molecular numbers or the diffusion constants.