(Carl Zeiss: Jena, Germany) -- Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH, in Jena, Germany, and Olympus America Inc., in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, have signed a nonexclusive worldwide licensing agreement allowing Carl Zeiss to access an extensive portfolio of patents held by Olympus in the field of digital pathology and virtual microscopy. The patents included in the licensing deal cover methods and equipment for creating, storing, and delivering virtual microscopy slides. The technology enables individuals to view and share high-resolution virtual microscopy images over the Internet.

“The handling of digital data has become a major driver of the development of modern microscopy,” says Bernhard Ohnesorge, a member of the board and the general manager of the BioSciences Division of Carl Zeiss Microscopy. “Integrating the virtual slide functionality into our research microscope systems will enable our customers to become more efficient and to explore new scientific approaches. This will help them to better understand the root causes of the most challenging diseases.”

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