Aperio Technologies receives another patent for TDI arrays in microscope slide scanners

Dec 10 2008

Aperio Technologies, Inc., (Aperio), a global leader in digital pathology for the healthcare and life sciences industry, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company patent No. 7,457,446 entitled "Fully Automatic Rapid Microscope Slide Scanner."

U.S. patent 7,457,446 includes specific claims for the use of time delay integration (TDI) arrays in slide scanning systems, including the use of multiple TDI arrays in conjunction with a prism to split an optical signal into multiple color channels. "This is the second patent we have received in the last 60 days that covers the use of TDI arrays for whole slide imaging," said Dirk Soenksen, CEO of Aperio. "Time delay integration is ideally suited for low light level applications such as fluorescence, and we're pleased that the '446 patent includes specific claims regarding the use of TDI arrays for fluorescence imaging."

Aperio's patent portfolio encompasses all of the elements that comprise a digital pathology system, including digital slide creation, data management, advanced visualization, and image analysis. "Intellectual property will become more and more important as digital pathology becomes a critical technology in pathology laboratories," added Soenksen. "Our broad and growing patent portfolio provides us with the freedom to develop products to address current and future needs of our customers."

Aperio holds over 30 issued patents and pending patent applications world-wide and is the digital pathology leader in the global market with an installed base of more than 450 systems in 28 countries.