Confocal slide-digitizing apparatus

A confocal slide-digitizing apparatus (100), comprising a slide handling unit (20) and a confocal imaging unit (10),

• said slide handling unit (20) having a slide supplier unit (90) configured to position slides (92) one after the other in an imaging position, individual ones of said slides (92) carrying at least individual samples to be digitized;
• and
• said imaging unit (10) having a light source (40) configured to illuminate the sample to be digitized at the imaging position through an objective (18) arranged in a light path that enables confocal imaging of at least a region of the sample, and an image recording unit to receive light with information on at least an illuminated region of the sample through the objective (18) and generate a digital image of a section of a given thickness of said illuminated region, wherein the slide handling unit (20) and the imaging unit (10) are joined mechanically together by a tilting mechanism (3) in a tiltable manner relative to one another to define a tilting angle, thereby correcting the light path of said confocal imaging, wherein the tilting angle is chosen so as to ensure that digital images of two adjacent sections of the sample are capable of being continuously stitched together along a thickness of the sample;
• wherein the imaging unit (10) is mounted on a carrier plate (85), the slide handling unit (20) is mounted on a table (80), and the carrier plate (85) and the table (80) are interconnected by the tilting mechanism (30);
• wherein the tilting mechanism (30) comprises:
• (i) two console members (86) and two pillar members (88), wherein each console member (86) is securely mounted at one end thereof on opposite regions of said carrier plate (85), each pillar member (88) is securely mounted at one end thereof on opposite regions of said table, and wherein the console members (86) and the pillar members (88), in pairs, are joined rotatably to one another at further free ends thereof;
• and
• (ii) a second arm (38) mounted securely on the carrier plate (85) in a region of the carrier plate (85) that is substantially perpendicular to a region defined by the regions in which the console members (86) are securely mounted on the carrier plate (85), a first arm (36) joined through a pin (37) pivotably or hingedly to the second arm (38), a threaded shaft (35) being engaged with a threaded bore of the first arm (36), and a stepper motor (34) connected to the threaded shaft (35) to have said threaded shaft rotated (35) around a longitudinal axis, the stepper motor (34) having a housing securely mounted on the table (80).