A method for assisting a user in review of a slide containing a biological sample with a microscope having an eyepiece and a plurality of objective lenses (108, 108A, 108B) with different magnifications, the method comprising the steps of: (a) capturing, with a camera, a digital image of a current field of view of the sample as seen through a first objective lens of the plurality of objective lenses and the eyepiece of the microscope, (b) using a first machine learning pattern recognizer to identify areas of interest in the sample from the image captured by the camera, the first machine learning pattern recognizer selected from an ensemble of pattern recognizers (406A, 406B, 406C, 406D) based on a magnification of the first objective lens, each respective pattern recognizer trained on image data at a different magnification, and (c) superimposing, through the eyepiece as an overlay on the current field of view, an enhancement to the current field of view of the sample as seen through the eyepiece of the microscope, wherein the enhancement is based upon the identified areas of interest in the sample, (d) wherein, when a magnification of the microscope changes by switching to a second of the plurality of objective lenses, a new digital image of a new field of view of the sample is captured by the camera and supplied to a second machine learning pattern recognizer, the second machine learning pattern recognizer selected from the ensemble of pattern recognizers based on a magnification of the second objective lens, and a new enhancement is superimposed as an overlay on the new field of view of the sample as seen through the eyepiece in substantial real time, whereby the enhancement assists the user in classifying or characterizing the biological sample. (a) capturing, with a camera, a digital image of a current field of view of the sample as seen through a first objective lens of the plurality of objective lenses and the eyepiece of the microscope, (b) using a first machine learning pattern recognizer to identify areas of interest in the sample from the image captured by the camera, the first machine learning pattern recognizer selected from an ensemble of pattern recognizers (406A, 406B, 406C, 406D) based on a magnification of the first objective lens, each respective pattern recognizer trained on image data at a different magnification, and (c) superimposing, through the eyepiece as an overlay on the current field of view, an enhancement to the current field of view of the sample as seen through the eyepiece of the microscope, wherein the enhancement is based upon the identified areas of interest in the sample, (d) wherein, when a magnification of the microscope changes by switching to a second of the plurality of objective lenses, a new digital image of a new field of view of the sample is captured by the camera and supplied to a second machine learning pattern recognizer, the second machine learning pattern recognizer selected from the ensemble of pattern recognizers based on a magnification of the second objective lens, and a new enhancement is superimposed as an overlay on the new field of view of the sample as seen through the eyepiece in substantial real time, whereby the enhancement assists the user in classifying or characterizing the biological sample.