A microscopy system comprising: a light source for transmitting a single light beam; a beam splitter for splitting the single light beam into a plurality of light beams forming a multi-focal pattern; a scanner for scanning the plurality of light beams that forms the multi-focal pattern onto a sample such that the sample generates a plurality of fluorescent emissions with each multi-focal pattern; a pinhole array defining a plurality of apertures configured to block out-of-focus fluorescence emissions of the plurality of fluorescent emissions for each multi-focal pattern and allowing only through in-focus fluorescent emissions to pass through the plurality of apertures; a scaling component (150,152) for scaling down the plurality of in-focus fluorescent emissions for each multi-focal pattern such that each of the plurality of in-focus fluorescent emissions is scaled down to produce a plurality of scaled in-focus fluorescent emissions for each multi-focal pattern, the in-focus fluorescence emissions resulting from each of the plurality of multi-focal patterns in a local contraction operation in which each of the plurality of fluorescent focal points resulting from each of the multi-focal patterns maintains the same distance from another plurality of fluorescent focal points resulting from the multi-focal pattern as the plurality of fluorescent focal points contract to produce scaled, in-focus fluorescent emissions; and a detector for collecting the plurality of multi-focal fluorescent emissions that results from each of the multi-focal patterns, the detector being operable for summing each of the plurality of scaled in-focus fluorescent emissions to produce a plurality of summed, scaled in-focus fluorescent emissions that form a composite image of the plurality of summed, scaled in-focus fluorescent emissions. a light source for transmitting a single light beam; a beam splitter for splitting the single light beam into a plurality of light beams forming a multi-focal pattern; a scanner for scanning the plurality of light beams that forms the multi-focal pattern onto a sample such that the sample generates a plurality of fluorescent emissions with each multi-focal pattern; a pinhole array defining a plurality of apertures configured to block out-of-focus fluorescence emissions of the plurality of fluorescent emissions for each multi-focal pattern and allowing only through in-focus fluorescent emissions to pass through the plurality of apertures; a scaling component (150,152) for scaling down the plurality of in-focus fluorescent emissions for each multi-focal pattern such that each of the plurality of in-focus fluorescent emissions is scaled down to produce a plurality of scaled in-focus fluorescent emissions for each multi-focal pattern, the in-focus fluorescence emissions resulting from each of the plurality of multi-focal patterns in a local contraction operation in which each of the plurality of fluorescent focal points resulting from each of the multi-focal patterns maintains the same distance from another plurality of fluorescent focal points resulting from the multi-focal pattern as the plurality of fluorescent focal points contract to produce scaled, in-focus fluorescent emissions; and a detector for collecting the plurality of multi-focal fluorescent emissions that results from each of the multi-focal patterns, the detector being operable for summing each of the plurality of scaled in-focus fluorescent emissions to produce a plurality of summed, scaled in-focus fluorescent emissions that form a composite image of the plurality of summed, scaled in-focus fluorescent emissions.