Abstract
The present invention provides a method and device for optically extracting discrete features of an object. With this method and device, small regions of interest or features within a relatively large object are optically extracted and collated into a single, condensed image. The condensed image contains all of the features in the original object, but not the parts of the object that are between the features. Thus, the optically extracted features can be viewed at high resolution, but in a limited field of view. Examples of objects that may be optically extracted according to the invention include spots of biomaterial on a biochip, material in wells of a microtiter plate, etc. In addition, this device and method can be used for non-planar objects. In this case, the device and method allow simultaneous visualization of spatially separated features on a surface of a 3-dimensional object.