System and Method for Remote Navigation of a Specimen

• US 20100067759A1
• Filed: 09/03/2009
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: Jack A. Zeineh
• Inventors: Zeineh, Jack A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,916,916 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 9/007 Transform coding, e.g. discrete cosine transform
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring

Abstract

A method of providing remote navigation of a specimen includes receiving a command to remotely control a microscope and a camera coupled with the microscope to view a portion of a specimen disposed on the microscope, capturing a digital image of the portion with the camera in response to the command, representing the digital image as a plurality of digital image components, each of the digital image components providing a different level of detail of the image, and transmitting the components in sequential order of increasing level of detail from least detailed to most detailed.

Claims

1. A method of providing remote navigation of a specimen, comprising:

receiving a command to remotely control a microscope and a camera coupled with the microscope to view a portion of a specimen disposed on the microscope;

capturing a digital image of the portion of the specimen with the camera in response to the command;

using a processor to represent the digital image as a plurality of digital image components, each of the digital image components providing a different level of detail of the image; and

transmitting the components in sequential order of increasing level of detail from least detailed to most detailed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the microscope comprises a stage, and wherein the specimen is disposed on the stage.

3. A system providing remote navigation of a specimen, comprising a processor that executes instructions and thereby causes the processor to:

receive a command to remotely control a microscope and a camera coupled with the microscope to view a portion of a specimen disposed on the microscope;

capture a digital image of the portion of the specimen with the camera in response to the command;

represent the image as a plurality of digital image components, each of the digital image components providing a different level of detail of the image; and

transmit the components in sequential order of increasing level of detail from least detailed to most detailed.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the microscope comprises a stage, and wherein the specimen is disposed on the stage.