Patent ID: RE44035

Claim:
An instrument system A system for navigating an object in an electron microscope without prior manual traversal of the object, comprising: a camera for acquiring an optical image of an the object, the optical image defining a first coordinate system; means for positioning the object in , the positioning means defining a second coordinate system relative to an electron beam of the electron microscope, the optical image representing a substantial portion of the second coordinate system ; means for adjusting the position of the object in the second coordinate system; and a computer operative for storing the optical image, for defining a relationship between the first and second coordinate systems and for at least one of: (i) causing the adjusting means to move the object within the second coordinate system in response to selection of a point in the first coordinate system corresponding to a point on the optical image , so that the point on the object corresponding to the point on the optical image is located at a point in the second coordinate system related to the selected point in the first coordinate system the electron beam of the electron microscope, thereby causing a selected portion of the object to be viewable by the electron microscope ; and (ii) causing an indicia superimposed on the optical image to move to a point in the first coordinate system corresponding to the point in the second coordinate system that is located at the electron beam of the electron microscope, in response to moving the object in the second coordinate system.