Flexible microscope slide

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a microscope slide adapted for supravital staining of cells in a biological fluid or tissue sample.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a microscope slide adapted for immediate on-site screening of a biological fluid or tissue sample.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a microscope slide which is bendable so that the slide can be folded over such that a viewing area of the slide can be placed against a specimen to obtain a sample directly therefrom.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a microscope slide which is resilient so that the slide will return to its original shape for viewing under a microscope after the sample has been collected.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished through the use of a flexible plastic microscope slide which can be folded over such that a viewing area of the slide can be placed against a specimen to obtain a sample directly therefrom without the need of transferring devices or breakable glass components, thereby reducing biological hazards.
The slide is designed for on-site collection, staining, and viewing of cells in biological fluid and tissue samples, preferably with an epi-fluorescence microscope.
This novel slide permits point-of-care screening in a matter of minutes of any biological fluid or tissue sample (e.
g.
urine, blood, sputum, spinal fluid, amniotic fluid, tears, needle aspirates, semen, tissue touch preparations, plant sap, etc.
) for presence of infectious agents (e.
g.
bacteria, including mycoplasma-sized mollicutes, spirochetes, fungi, parasites, etc.
).
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention.