THE STANDARD microscope slide of 26 x 76mm (1 x 3 inch) is a familiar sight in labs worldwide. The double slide, measuring 52 x 76mm, is used in some procedures including pathology, specifically when larger samples need to be analysed.
Extra-large Jumbo slides can be imaged in brightfield or fluorescence using Leica's SCN400 scanners
Now Leica Microsystems is introducing the extra-large Jumbo slides, measuring 113 x 76mm, as part of its Total Digital Pathology portfolio. It says its SCN400 and SCN400 F line scanners are the only devices capable of digitisation of the very large specimens mounted on such slides, and that images can be captured in either brightfield or fluorescence.
The good news for existing SCN400 users is that they will be able to implement large slide scanning without any physical updates or hardware changes to their scanners.
“The introduction of extra-large slide scanning marks a significant advance for neuroscience, toxicological pathology, and anyone dealing with large tissue sections” said Dr Donal O’Shea, head of digital pathology at Leica Microsystems, adding that sharing large tissue sections digitally rather than physically brought cost and time savings to users.
Leica Microsystems’s Total Digital Pathology range enables the imaging of sample types including brightfield, fluorescence, and fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (Fish).