Tuesday - February 10, 2004

Bacus Labs released WebSlide Browser v3.6 today.  This is a software application that I have been developing over several years now, and software that I use daily. 

It sets many firsts, for instance it was the first commercially available virtual microscopy software.  (Bacus Labs is going to celebrate its 10th year of business this year)  This software is particularly adept for viewing digital microscope slides from a variety of media, including over a network.

It introduced the multipane/magnification view of a microscope slide, i.e. being able to simultaneously see a thumbnail overview of the entire slide, while viewing a higher magnification in an adjacent pane.  Microscopists frequently change the objectives on their microscopes to low power to navigate and high power to examine.

It was the first to integrate interactive measurements over a virtual slide.

It was the first to integrate annotation overlays on a virtual slide.

It was the first to allow multiple users to view the same virtual slide over the Internet and synchronize their views to simulate a multiheaded microscope, including a chat system.

It was the first to integrate html and other multimedia around a virtual slide viewing pane so a wide variety of information can be presented with the slide in a flexible, standard way.

It was the first to integrate focusing a virtual slide.

And this version will be the first to...   I can't write about that yet, but it's already in there!

And by the way, did you know it is a good lightweight web browser?  Here is my web site in WebSlide Browser.