Patent ID: 7949383

Claim:
A light-tight imaging system for capturing an image of a sample, the imaging system comprising: an imaging box including: a body including an interior cavity for receiving the sample, and having a front portion defining an opening into said cavity, said body further including a view hole enabling viewing of the sample; and a door having a rear portion, said door movable between an opened condition, enabling access to the interior cavity through the cavity opening, and a closed condition, positioning said rear portion substantially adjacent the body front portion to prevent access through the cavity opening; a moveable stage disposed in the cavity interior that supports the sample, said moveable stage being adapted to selectively position the sample at a selected one of a plurality of vertical positions relative to the view hole, wherein each of the plurality of vertical positions has substantially the same horizontal position in the interior cavity and each is substantially linearly closer to or substantially linearly further away from said view hole with respect to every other vertical position; and a light shield supported by said moveable stage, said light shield preventing light from said sample to translate horizontally to a portion of the moveable stage that does not support said sample, wherein said light shield includes a substantially vertical wall upstanding from a surface of the moveable stage.