Patent ID: 7738688

Claim:
A computer implemented method for viewing on a virtual microscope slide client viewer virtual microscope slides stored in a persistent data storage area on a virtual microscope slide image server, wherein a stored virtual microscope slide image includes image data at a plurality of resolutions, the method comprising: receiving at the virtual microscope slide image server a virtual microscope slide request from the virtual microscope slide client viewer, wherein the request identifies a stored virtual microscope slide having a plurality of images of the entire virtual slide, wherein each of said plurality of images of the entire virtual slide is at a different resolution, said request further identifying a particular resolution for the requested virtual microscope slide image data; determining the requested resolution, wherein the requested resolution is not one of the plurality of resolutions in the stored virtual microscope slide; obtaining virtual microscope slide image data from the stored virtual microscope slide image, wherein the obtained image data is from the resolution of the plurality of stored resolutions that is nearest to the requested resolution; sending the obtained virtual slide image data to the virtual microscope slide client viewer; and scaling the virtual slide image data at the client viewer from the stored resolution to the requested resolution.