US 12,001,002 B2Granted

Slide imaging apparatus

AssigneeVentana Medical Systems, Inc.

InventorsWilliam Roland Hawes, Jagdish Pankhania

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Abstract

A slide imaging apparatus that includes a copy holder moving system and an imaging system. The copy holder moving system includes a movable stage configured to move along first and second slide movement axes relative to the imaging system, wherein the imaging system is configured to form an image of a sample mounted on a slide located in the/each imaging location on the movable stage during an image forming process that includes the movable stage moving relative to the imaging system along the first and second slide movement axes. The copy holder moving system also includes a copy holder configured to be mounted to the movable stage, wherein the copy holder is configured to be mounted to the movable stage in each of a plurality of indexing positions.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A slide imaging apparatus that includes:

a copy holder moving system;
and
an imaging system;
wherein the copy holder moving system includes:
a movable stage configured to move along first and second slide movement axes relative to the imaging system, wherein the imaging system is configured to form an image of at least a portion of a sample mounted on a slide located at an imaging location on the movable stage during an image forming process that includes the movable stage moving relative to the imaging system along the first and second slide movement axes;
a copy holder configured to be mounted to the movable stage, wherein the copy holder includes:
a plurality of apertures, each aperture being configured to hold a respective slide;
an indexing arm for holding the copy holder;
and
an indexing motor configured to move the indexing arm along an indexing axis that is nonparallel with respect to both the first and second slide movement axes;
and
wherein the copy holder is configured to be mounted to the movable stage in each of a plurality of indexing positions.

9 more elements

A method for imaging a set of sample slices, the method comprising:

capturing, using an imaging system, a first image of a first sample slice of the set of sample slices, the first sample slice being positionally constrained within an aperture in a movable stage, wherein the movable stage is configured to move along first and second slide movement axes relative to the imaging system;
using a copy holder moving system to move the movable stage, wherein the copy holder includes:
a plurality of apertures, each aperture being configured to hold a respective slide, the plurality of apertures including the aperture;
an indexing arm for holding a copy holder;
and an indexing motor configured to move the indexing arm along an indexing axis that is nonparallel with respect to both the first and second slide movement axes;
and capturing, using the imaging system, a second image of a second sample slice of the set of sample slices.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/529,974Filed 18 Nov 2021 · continuation
Priority: EP 17151434.213 Jan 2017
Published: US 2022/0075174 A110 Mar 2022
Granted: 4 Jun 2024
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification2 codes

G02B 21/26
Base structure: stages; Adjusting means therefor
G02B
Optical elements, systems or apparatus

Family

PCT/EP2018/050567Parent of this continuation · filed 10 Jan 2018
US 2022/0075174 A1Pre-grant publication · published 10 Mar 2022
Application16/477,834Parent of this continuation
US 11,231,574 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2019/0361215 A1Published application
US 12,001,002 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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