Patent ID: 7277176

Claim:
An imaging system for obtaining images of a specimen comprising: (a) a support for supporting the specimen; (b) a camera having a field of view, said camera being positioned relative to said support, so that said specimen is within said field of view of said camera; (c) filter means disposed proximate said support for filtering energy emitted from said specimen, said filter means comprising a filter array for supporting a plurality of emission filters in a side-by-side relationship, said filter array being disposed within a plane having X and Y coordinates; and (d) positioning means for positioning said filter array relative to said field of view of said camera, said positioning means comprising guide means operably associated with said filter array for guiding travel of said filter array along said X and Y coordinates of said plane to position a selected one of said plurality of emission filters within the field of view of said camera,said guide means comprising a filter array guide means for guiding travel of said filter array along said X-axis of said plane, said filter array guide means comprising pair of spaced apart first guide rods connected to said filter array each said pair of spaced apart first guide rods including a first extremity and second extremity, said filter array being slidably moveable along side first guide rods, said filter array and said pair of spaced apart first guide rods cooperating to comprise a filter array assembly, said filter array assembly further comprising a pair of support bearings connected to said first extremities of said pair of spaced apart first guide rods and a pair of support bearings connected to said second extremities of said spaced apart second guide rods.