Patent 5790710 Issued on August 4, 1998. Estimated Expiration Date: January 17, 2017. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
Reliable autofocus is required to obtain accurate measurements of fluorescent stained cellular components from a system capable of scanning multiple microscope fields. Autofocus could be performed directly with fluorescence images, but due to photobleaching and destructive fluorescence by-products, it is best to minimize fluorescence exposure for photosensitive specimens and live cells. This exposure problem could be completely avoided by using phase-contrast microscopy, implemented through the same optics as fluorescence microscopy. Functions for both phase-contrast and fluorescence autofocus were evaluated using the present invention and the suitability of phase-contrast autofocus for fluorescence microscopy was determined. The present autofocus system for scanning microscopy can be performed at least as fast as 0.25 s/field without loss of precision.
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January 17, 2017. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
