title: Automated high throughput whole slide imaging using area sensors, flash light illumination and solid state light engine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Whole Slide Imagers or digital slide scanners have developed very rapidly in the last 8 years and went through three generations. Third generation instruments have just reached the market which have the stability and throughput to be used for routine clinical work. We describe in this article the technical background and reasoning behind engineering decisions we made during the development of 3DHISTECH's 3rd generation combined brightfield and fluorescent scanner.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Panoramic 250 FLASH utilizes Plan-Apochromat 20x and 40x objectives, a 2 megapixel 3CCD camera for brightfield and a monochrome scientific CMOS camera for fluorescent scanning. A solid state light engine for fluorescent and a strobe light for bright field illumination are used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The system can scan 1cm2 including focusing at 45x resolution in 1 minute. It can scan a well stained DAPI, FITC, TRIC, 1cm2 fluorescent slide in 11 minutes. It can load and scan 250 slides in walk away mode.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using the latest camera technology and electronics, state of the art computer and standard microscope optical components high throughput high quality whole slide imaging is feasible and is sufficient for most of the routine diagnostic work. Extended depth of field and Z-stack scanning is possible with the use of area scan technology.
authors.affiliation: 3DHISTECH Ltd. Budapest, Hungary. viktor.varga@3dhistech.com
authors.forename: Viktor Sebestyén
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.forename: Béla
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Molnár
authors.forename: Tibor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Virág
mesh_terms: D057286:Electronic Health Records; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008029:Lighting; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D010338:Pathology, Clinical / Q000379:methods*; D019113:Telepathology / Q000379:methods*