A Medical Device Daily

Aperio Technologies (Vista, California) reported that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company patent No. 7,463,761, entitled “Systems and Method for Creating and Viewing Three Dimensional Virtual Slides.”

This patent includes claims for the general technique of acquiring 2-D digital slide images, and using these images as a map to then acquire 3-D images known as z-stacks.

“The ability to create and view z-stacks while a glass slide is still in the scanner is critical for specimens that have multiple focal planes, such as frozen sections for example,” said Ole Eichhorn, Aperio’s chief technical officer.

The patent also includes claims for high-performance, remote viewing of 3-D digital slides across a network, including the Internet.

“The ability to create and efficiently view three-dimensional whole slide images makes it possible for Aperio to extend the benefits of digital pathology to the field of cytology, including Pap smears,” said Dirk Soenksen, CEO of Aperio. “The recent expansion of our patent portfolio to encompass TDI-, fluorescence- and 3-D-scanning, viewing and analysis continues to reassure customers that Aperio has the broadest freedom to operate in all niches of digital pathology.”