IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 |
US-0173818
(2005-07-01)
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등록번호 |
US-7457446
(2008-11-25)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
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출원인 / 주소 |
- Aperio Technologies, Inc.
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대리인 / 주소 |
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
23 인용 특허 :
46 |
초록
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Apparatus for and method of fully automatic rapid scanning and digitizing of an entire microscope sample, or a substantially large portion of a microscope sample, using a linear array detector synchronized with a positioning stage that is part of a computer controlled microscope slide scanner. The i
Apparatus for and method of fully automatic rapid scanning and digitizing of an entire microscope sample, or a substantially large portion of a microscope sample, using a linear array detector synchronized with a positioning stage that is part of a computer controlled microscope slide scanner. The invention provides a method for composing the image strips obtained from successive scans of the sample into a single contiguous digital image. The invention also provides a method for statically displaying sub-regions of this large digital image at different magnifications, together with a reduced magnification macro-image of the entire sample. The invention further provides a method for dynamically displaying, with or without operator interaction, portions of the contiguous digital image. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, all elements of the scanner are part of a single-enclosure that has a primary connection to the Internet or to a local intranet. In this embodiment, the preferred sample type is a microscope slide and the illumination and imaging optics are consistent with transmission mode optics optimized for diffraction-limited digital imaging.
대표청구항
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What is claimed is: 1. A method for creating a contiguous digital image of a portion of a microscope sample, comprising: accelerating a microscope sample along a first path to a substantially constant velocity relative to a line scan camera having a linear field of view and a data read rate; synchr
What is claimed is: 1. A method for creating a contiguous digital image of a portion of a microscope sample, comprising: accelerating a microscope sample along a first path to a substantially constant velocity relative to a line scan camera having a linear field of view and a data read rate; synchronizing the data read rate to the velocity of the microscope sample; acquiring first image data from the line scan camera while the data read rate and the velocity are synchronized; decelerating the microscope sample to a substantially complete stop, wherein said deceleration desynchronizes the data read rate and the velocity; storing the first image data as a first strip of contiguous image data; accelerating the microscope sample along a second path to the substantially constant velocity relative to the line scan camera, wherein the second path is substantially parallel to the first path; synchronizing the data read rate to the velocity of the microscope sample; acquiring second image data from the line scan camera while the data read rate and the velocity are synchronized; decelerating the microscope sample to a substantially complete stop, wherein said deceleration desynchronizes the data read rate and the velocity; storing the second image data as a second strip of contiguous image data; composing the first strip of contiguous image data and the second strip of contiguous image data into a contiguous digital image of a portion of the microscope sample. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising pre-scanning the microscope sample and mapping optimal focus as a function of X-Y location on the microscope sample, wherein each aquiring step further comprises adjusting the focus of the line scan camera in accordance with the pre-scanned focus map. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital image of the first strip has a first length and a first width and the digital image of the second strip has a second length and a second width, and wherein the first length and the second length are not equal. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first width and the second width are not equal. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first strip comprises a first perimeter edge of the sample and a first opposing perimeter edge of the sample, wherein the first perimeter edge and the first opposing perimeter edge are separated by at least 2 micrometers. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second strip comprises a second perimeter edge of the sample and a second opposing perimeter edge of the sample, wherein the second perimeter edge and the second opposing perimeter edge are separated by at least 2 micrometers. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the microscope sample is moved in a first direction along the first path to scan the first strip and the microscope sample is moved in a second direction along the second path to scan the second strip. 8. A method for creating a contiguous digital image of a portion of a microscope sample, comprising: moving a microscope sample along a first path at substantially constant velocity relative to a line scan camera having a linear field of view; stopping the microscope sample movement along the first path relative to the line scan camera; acquiring image data from the line scan camera as a first plurality of adjacent lines of image data, wherein said acquiring of image data takes place after the microscope sample begins moving along the first path and before the microscope sample stops moving along the first path; storing the first plurality of adjacent lines of image data as a first strip of contiguous image data; moving the microscope sample along a second path at substantially constant velocity relative to a line scan camera having a linear field of view, wherein said second path is substantially parallel to said first path; stopping the microscope sample movement along the second path relative to the line scan camera; acquiring image data from the line scan camera as a second plurality of adjacent lines of image data, wherein said acquiring of image data takes place after the microscope sample begins moving along the second path and before the microscope sample stops moving along the second path; storing the second plurality of adjacent lines of image data as a second strip of contiguous image data, wherein the second strip of image data partially overlaps the first strip of image data and wherein the digital image of the first strip has a first length and a first width and the digital image of the second strip has a second length and a second width and the first length and the second length are not equal; composing the first strip of contiguous image data and the second strip of contiguous image data into a contiguous digital image of a portion of the microscope sample. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising adjusting the focus of the line scan camera while acquiring image data. 10. A method for creating a contiguous digital image of a portion of a microscope sample, comprising: moving a microscope sample along a first path at substantially constant velocity relative to a line scan camera having a linear field of view; stopping the microscope sample movement along the first path relative to the line scan camera; acquiring image data from the line scan camera as a first plurality of adjacent lines of image data, wherein said acquiring of image data takes place after the microscope sample begins moving along the first path and before the microscope sample stops moving along the first path; storing the first plurality of adjacent lines of image data as a first strip of contiguous image data; p1 moving the microscope sample along a second path at substantially constant velocity relative to a line scan camera having a linear field of view, wherein said second path is substantially parallel to said first path; stopping the microscope sample movement along the second path relative to the line scan camera; acquiring image data from the line scan camera as a second plurality of adjacent lines of image data, wherein said acquiring of image data takes place after the microscope sample begins moving along the second path and before the microscope sample stops moving along the second path; storing the second plurality of adjacent lines of image data as a second strip of contiguous image data, wherein the second strip of image data partially overlaps the first strip of image data and wherein the digital image of the first strip has a first length and a first width and the digital image of the second strip has a second length and a second width and wherein the first width and the second width are not equal; and composing the first strip of contiguous image data and the second strip of contiguous image data into a contiguous digital image of a portion of the microscope sample. 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first strip comprises a first perimeter edge of the sample and a first opposing perimeter edge of the sample, wherein the first perimeter edge and the first opposing perimeter edge are separated by at least 2 micrometers. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second strip comprises a second perimeter edge of the sample and a second opposing perimeter edge of the sample, wherein the second perimeter edge and the second opposing perimeter edge are separated by at least 2 micrometers. 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the microscope sample is moved in a first direction along the first path to scan the first strip and the microscope sample is moved in a second direction along the second path to scan the second strip. 14. A system for creating a contiguous digital image of a portion of a microscope sample, comprising: a motorized stage configured to support a microscope sample and move the microscope sample at a substantially constant velocity; an illumination system configured to illuminate a portion of the microscope sample; an objective lens positioned for viewing the illuminated portion of the microscope sample while the sample is moving at substantially constant velocity; a prism positioned to split an optical signal from the objective lens into a plurality of color channels; a plurality of time delay integration (TDI) line scan cameras each comprising a plurality of light responsive elements arranged in a linear array, whereby each TDI array is positioned to receive the optical signal for one of the plurality of color channels; and a data processor configured to processes the light intensities from the plurality of light responsive elements for each of the TDI arrays to create a digital image strip of a portion of the microscope sample, the data processor further configured to assemble and store a plurality of digital image strips into a contiguous digital image of a portion of the microscope sample. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the motorized stage comprises at least one stepper motor. 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the motorized stage comprises at least one servo motor. 17. The system of claim 14, wherein the motorized stage comprises a first motor configured to move the microscope sample in a first direction and a second motor configured to move the microscope sample in a second direction, wherein the second direction is orthogonal to the first direction. 18. The system of claim 14, further comprising a piezo positioner connected to the objective lens, whereby the data processor directs the piezo positioner to adjust the position of the objective lens for focus. 19. The system of claim 14, further comprising a data storage area communicatively coupled to the data processor, the data processor further configured to store the contiguous digital image of a portion of the microscope sample in the data storage area. 20. The system of claim 14, wherein the illumination system is optimized for fluorescence mode optical microscopy. 21. The system of claim 14, wherein the illumination system is optimized for transmission mode optical microscopy. 22. The system of claim 14, wherein the illumination system is optimized for reflection mode optical microscopy. 23. The system of claim 14, wherein the illumination system is optimized for bright-field optical microscopy. 24. The method of claim 1, wherein the line scan camera comprises a time delay integration (TDI) line scan camera comprising a plurality of light responsive elements arranged in a linear array. 25. The method of claim 24, further comprising splitting an optical signal to be read by the TDI array into a plurality of color channels. 26. The method of claim 25, further comprising positioning a TDI array to receive the optical signal for each of the color channels.
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