Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system, comprising:a) a calibration standard having a reference object with at least two landmark features of differing scales identifiable by pattern recognition at a plurality of magnifications, dimensions of which have been verified and digitally archived in association with a unique identification code for the calibration standard, the landmark features each being associated with a distinctive marking that can be read by pattern recognition to identify the different landmark features, the calibration standard also having a machine readable identification code marker configured to appear in a magnified digital image of the reference object, the identification code marker corresponding to the unique identification code for the calibration standard;b) a stage to position the calibration standard, and alternatively to position a sample;c) image acquiring means for acquiring magnified digital images of the reference object, and alternatively for acquiring a magnified digital image of the sample;d) a data storage module for storing information including the unique identification code for the calibration standard and the associated verified dimensions of the landmark features of the reference object;e) a control module configured to control the stage and the image acquiring means to obtain digital images of the reference object of the calibration standard at a plurality of magnifications, and alternatively to obtain a digital image of the sample; andf) a data processing module configured to:automatically read by pattern recognition at a plurality of magnifications the distinctive markings associated with the landmark features of the reference object of the calibration standard to identify the landmark features;automatically measure dimensions of the identified landmark features of the reference object of the calibration standard by pattern recognition at a plurality of magnifications;automatically read the identification code marker of the calibration standard by pattern recognition to obtain the unique identification code for the calibration standard, and to retrieve the verified dimensions of the landmark features of the reference object associated with the unique identification code for the calibration standard;automatically establish calibration parameters for a plurality of magnifications based on comparing the measured dimensions of the landmark features with the verified dimensions; andautomatically store the calibration parameters in the data storage module. 2. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 1 wherein the identification code marker comprises a bar code. 3. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 2 wherein the bar code is replicated at a plurality of different scales. 4. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 3 wherein the calibration standard also has the unique identification code marked on is in a form easily read by a human operator. 5. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 1 wherein landmark features of the reference object of the calibration standard comprises a plurality of similar figures of varying scale. 6. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 5 wherein each of the figures is distinguished with one of the distinctive markings read by the data processing module by pattern recognition. 7. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 6 wherein each of the figures is distinguished by a distinct number of sub-markings. 8. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 7 wherein the figures comprise a plurality of nesting rectangles. 9. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 1 further comprising a computer readable medium containing the unique identification code for the calibration standard and the associated verified dimensions of the landmark features of the reference object. 10. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 1, wherein the verified dimensions of the landmark features of the reference object are verified by an external calibration performed by an accredited organization. 11. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 1 wherein the data processing module is further configured to automatically validate the calibration parameters bymeasuring one or more attributes of a plurality of objects having attributes of known values by pattern recognition,comparing the measured values of the one or more attributes with the known values,wherein the system is validated when the measured values are within a predetermined range of the known values. 12. A calibration standard for use with an automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system that includes a data storage module for storing information including a unique identification code for the calibration standard and associated verified dimensions of landmark features of a reference object of the calibration standard, and a data processing module configured to automatically read at a plurality of magnifications distinctive markings associated with the landmark features of the reference object of the calibration to identify the different landmark features to measure dimensions of the landmark features of the reference object of the calibration standard, and to automatically read at a plurality of magnifications an identification code marker of the calibration standard, and to retrieve verified dimensions of the identified landmark features of the reference object associated with the unique identification code for the calibration standard, the calibration standard comprising:a reference object with at least two landmark features of different scales identifiable and measurable by pattern recognition at a plurality of magnifications, dimensions of which have been verified and digitally archived in association with a unique identification code for the calibration standard, the landmark features each being associated with a distinctive marking that can be read by pattern recognition to identify the different landmark features; anda machine readable identification code marker configured to appear in a magnified digital image of the reference object, the identification code marker being replicated at a plurality of different scales and corresponding to the unique identification code for the calibration standard; andwherein the identification code marker comprises a bar code. 13. The calibration standard of claim 12 wherein the calibration standard also has the unique identification code marked on it in a form easily read by a human operator. 14. The calibration standard of claim 13 wherein the reference object of the calibration standard comprises a plurality of similar figures of varying scale. 15. The calibration standard of claim 14 wherein each of the figures is distinguished with one of the distinctive markings read by the data processing module by pattern recognition. 16. The calibration standard of claim 15 wherein each of the figures is distinguished by a distinct number of sub-markings. 17. The calibration standard of claim 16 wherein the figures comprise a plurality of nesting rectangles. 18. The calibration standard of claim 12 further comprising a computer readable medium containing the unique identification code for the calibration standard and the associated verified dimensions of the landmark features of the reference object. 19. The automatically self-calibrating magnifying measurement system of claim 1 wherein the data processing module is further configured to measure one or more attributes of a sample by pattern recognition applying the calibration parameters.