A method of capturing a focused image of a continuously moving
slide/objective arrangement is provided. A frame grabber device is
triggered to capture an image of the slide through an objective at a
first focus level as the slide continuously moves laterally relative to
the objective. Alternatingly with triggering the frame grabber device,
the objective is triggered to move to a second focus level after capture
of the image of the slide. The objective moves in discrete steps,
oscillating between minimum and maximum focus levels. The frame grabber
device is triggered at a frequency as the slide continuously moves
laterally relative to the objective so multiple images at different focus
levels overlap, whereby a slide portion is common to each. The image
having the maximum contrast value within overlapping images represents an
optimum focus level for the slide portion, and thus the focused image.
Associated apparatuses and methods are also provided.