I. Introduction
The introduction of digital cameras, motorized stages, and image processing to optical microscopy has had a profound effect on fundamental biological research, drug discovery, and medical diagnostics. Combining automation of the imaging hardware with image processing and robotic manipulation allows for monitoring and interacting with biological samples in ways far beyond the capabilities of even the most skilled human operator. For example, such systems can capture and track events that are much too fast for human reaction times (e.g., tracking rapidly moving motile organisms [1]), large samples can be observed over a time frame of days to weeks to glimpse rare events or increase the strength of statistical arguments [2], and large numbers of samples can be automatically processed and scored as required in drug discovery efforts where only a small portion of the prospective treatments turn out to be effective.