Slide inventory and reinsertion system
A slide rack inventory and reinsertion system for use with a digital slide scanning apparatus is provided that determines, prior to scanning of glass slides in a slide rack, a status of each slot in the slide rack as properly occupied, improperly occupied, or empty. The system also determines whether a slide that has been removed from the slide rack for processing has been properly reinserted into the slide rack.
1. A digital slide scanning apparatus, comprising:
a motor configured to position a slide rack within the digital slide scanning apparatus, the slide rack configured to hold a plurality of glass slides in a plurality of slots, wherein each slot has an opening at a first end of the slot and a barrier at a second end of the slot;
a sensor pair comprising a transmitter element and a receiver element positioned for line-of-sight communication, the transmitter element positioned on a first side of a sensor mount and the receiver element positioned on a second side of the sensor mount; and
a processor configured to control the motor to move the slide rack to pass a rear portion of each of the plurality of slots of the slide rack through the line-of-sight communication of the sensor pair, the processor further configured to receive a signal from the sensor pair and analyze the signal to determine a status of each slot of the slide rack.
2. The digital slide scanning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the status of each of the plurality of slots is one of: normal or abnormal.
3. The digital slide scanning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein if the status of a single slot is abnormal, a status of the slide rack is abnormal.
4. The digital slide scanning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein if the status of each of the plurality of slots is normal, the processor is further configured to beginning scanning a first slide from a first slot.
5. The digital slide scanning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sensor pair is positioned such that a plane of the line-of-sight of the sensor pair is substantially the same as a plane occupied by the glass slide during scanning of the glass slide by the digital slide scanning apparatus.
6. The digital slide scanning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the line-of-sight communication comprises optical communication.
7. The digital slide scanning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the optical communication takes place in accordance with a refraction of the transmit signal through the glass slide.
8. A method in a digital slide scanning apparatus that comprises
a motor configured to position a slide rack within the digital slide scanning apparatus, the slide rack configured to hold a plurality of glass slides in a plurality of slots,
a sensor pair comprising a transmitter element and a receiver element relatively positioned for line-of-sight communication, and
at least one processor,
the method comprising, by the at least one processor:
driving the motor to move the slide rack between the transmitter element and the receiver element;
passing a rear portion of each of the plurality of slots of the slide rack through the line-of-sight communication of the sensor pair during said movement of the slide rack;
receiving a signal from the sensor pair during movement of the slide rack;
correlating at least a portion of the signal from the sensor pair to each of the plurality of slots of the slide rack;
analyzing the portion of the signal from the sensor pair corresponding to each of the plurality of slots; and
determining a status of each of the plurality of slots based on the analysis.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the status of each of the plurality of slots is one of: normal or abnormal.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein if the status of a single slot is abnormal, the status of the slide rack is abnormal.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein if the status of each of the plurality of slots is normal, the at least one processor begins the scanning process for a first glass slide.
12. The method of claim 8 , wherein passing a rear portion of each of the plurality of slots of the slide rack through the line-of-sight communication of the sensor pair during said movement of the slide rack comprises passing the rear portion of each of the plurality of slots of the slide rack through a plane of the line-of-sight communication of the sensor pair.
13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the line-of-sight communication comprises optical communication.
14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the optical communication takes place in accordance with a refraction of the transmit signal through the glass slide.
15. A digital slide scanning apparatus, comprising:
a motor configured to position a slide rack having a plurality of slots and holding a plurality of glass slides;
a sensor pair comprising a transmitter element and a receiver element positioned for line-of-sight communication passing through a rear portion of a first slot of the slide rack; and
a processor configured to receive a signal from the sensor pair during reinsertion of a first glass slide into the first slot of the slide rack and analyze the signal to determine a reinsertion status of the first slide into the first slot.
16. The digital slide scanning apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the reinsertion status is one of: proper or improper.
17. A method in a digital slide scanning apparatus that comprises
a motor configured to position a slide rack within the digital slide scanning apparatus, the slide rack configured to hold a plurality of glass slides in a plurality of slots,
a sensor pair comprising a transmitter element and a receiver element positioned for line-of-sight communication passing through a rear portion of a first slot of the slide rack, and
at least one processor,
the method comprising, by the at least one processor:
receiving a signal from the sensor pair during reinsertion of a first glass slide into the first slot of the slide rack; and
analyzing the signal to determine a reinsertion status of the first slide into the first slot.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the reinsertion status is one of: proper or improper.