Calibration slides for digital pathology
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Publication Number
US-12298207-B2
Publication Date
2025-05-13
Expiration Date
Abstract
In some embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to coatings or thin films comprising a dye or stain embedded within a matrix, e.g. a polymer matrix.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to calibration systems for digital pathology, including whole slide imaging, that use calibration slides having an optically transparent substrate with a coating of substantially uniform thickness. In the coating, a dye is substantially uniformly dispersed within a matrix, such that the dye distribution is controlled within the thin film.
The disclosure addresses concentration-dependent stains that deviate from Beer-Lambert law behavior due to precipitation and scattering, affecting light extinction from absorption plus scattering. To address this, the disclosure derives concentration-specific color reference vectors for calibration, enabling imaging calibration and support for selection/unmixing across stain concentrations.
In some implementations, the calibration system includes at least two different coatings deposited in at least two different areas on the surface of the optically transparent substrate, where each coating has substantially uniform thickness and includes a dye embedded within a matrix with substantially uniform dye dispersion. The multiple coatings can vary the same dye across different concentrations or use two different dyes.
Claims Coverage
The document provides two independent claims. Across these claims, the core coverage centers on an optically transparent substrate with a substantially uniform-thickness coating embedding a substantially uniformly dispersed dye in a matrix, and a multi-region version with at least two substantially uniform-thickness coating regions on the substrate surface.
Optically transparent substrate with uniform-thickness dye-in-matrix coating
An optically transparent substrate and a coating of substantially uniform thickness disposed on at least a portion of the optically transparent substrate, where the coating comprises a dye substantially uniformly dispersed within the matrix.
Multiple uniform-thickness dye-in-matrix coatings on different substrate areas
An optically transparent substrate and at least two different coatings deposited in at least two different areas on a surface of the optically transparent substrate, where each coating is substantially uniform in thickness, each coating comprises a dye embedded within a matrix with the dye substantially uniformly dispersed within the matrix.
Together, the independent claims cover a calibration system built from an optically transparent substrate bearing dye embedded in a substantially uniformly dispersed matrix coating with substantially uniform thickness, including both a single-coating embodiment and a multi-coating, multi-area embodiment.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
Calibration slides and a calibration system used in digital pathology, including whole slide imaging, for imaging calibration and support for selection/unmixing across stain concentrations.
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