Patent Document ID: 7596249
Application ID: 10373156
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of forming a virtual microscope slide to provide images of a specimen outside the depth of field of a principal focal plane, the specimen being deposited on a microscope slide located on a stage movable in X, Y, and Z directions with respect to a microscope lens, the method comprising: moving the stage in the Z direction to position the specimen at the principal focal plane and then moving the stage in at least one of the X and Y directions to digitally capture an area of the specimen at a given level of magnification, wherein each stage movement allows the capture of a first set of Z-plane images formed of tiles or strips which are contiguous and non-overlapping, to produce multiple, adjacent, microscope objective optical fields of view, each captured at the principal focal plane; moving the stage in at least one of the X and Y directions over the same area of the specimen, at the given level of magnification, to digitally capture a second set Z-plane images formed of tiles or strips which are contiguous and non-overlapping, to produce multiple, adjacent, microscope objective optical fields of view of the area of the specimen captured at a different Z-plane focal distance; and associating and storing the first and second set of Z-plane images in a data structure for later retrieval of the respective images to preserve the depth of field content for the specimen.