Aperio, a provider of digital pathology solutions to improve patient care, has received the patent No 7,787,674 entitled, 'Systems and Methods for Viewing Three Dimensional Virtual Slides' from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The patent describes techniques for retrieving, manipulating and viewing three dimensional (3D) image objects from three dimensional digital slide images.

The patent extends the intellectual property rights associated with Aperio’s digital pathology systems, including its patented linear array-based ScanScope slide scanning systems, which create true color whole slide images at giga-pixel resolution from an entire glass slide in minutes.

The patented 3D viewing technology is a key component of Aperio’s Spectrum Plus image management (PACS) software, which provides applications for storing, managing, viewing and analysing digital slides.

Aperio CEO Dirk Soenksen said that providing imagery data from multiple focus levels throughout the thickness of a specimen has an impact on the accuracy of pathological interpretations in cytology, hematopathology, small tissue biopsies, and microbiology.

“This is one more milestone in our quest to enhance our intellectual property portfolio and to develop products that improve patient care.”