FIELD: medical technology.
SUBSTANCE: invention relates to methods for scanning biological preparations. The method includes digital scanning of a drug swab using a microscope equipped with a lens and a scanning camera, and the initial minimum and maximum values of the depth of the swab scan and the initial minimum and maximum values of the 
RMS deviation of the intensity of the current image from the previous one are preset, the scanning area is set and focusing is carried out at three reference points equidistant from the center of the scanning area, determining the coordinates the specified points along the X, Y, Z axes, an averaged plane 
is built, the scanning area is divided by the size of the field of view of the camera lens, getting the number of fields of view, and a queue of fields is formed. The table with the swab is moved to the 2nd field of view in in the queue on the plane and the current image F0 is saved, then the focus range is calculated for the 1st field of view in the queue. Then the table is moved to the calculated position on the Z axis in the 1st field of view and the current image Fj is saved, after which it is moved along the calculated range along the Z axis, preserving the clearest images, the 
RMS deviation between the images F0 and Fj is calculated and a graph of the dependence of the focus range on the RMS deviation is plotted, after which the table is moved along the calculated range, preserving the clearest images to form a digital image. The specified cycle is repeated when processing the remaining fields of view in the queue. The queue of fields starts from the upper-left corner of the specified scanning area, then from left to right in an odd row and from right to left in an even row.
EFFECT: increase in the accuracy and speed of scanning of a cervical preparation prepared by liquid cytology by dynamically changing the required focusing range depending on the thickness of the swab.
2 cl, 7 dwg
