A laser-based optical scanning system (12) includes a laser delivery system (16), a laser-based scanning subsystem (36), a laser-based detection subsystem (44), and an automated stage (54) for processing multiple slides (38). The laser-based scanning subsystem (36) includes a galvanometer mirror (32) for scanning a laser beam along the X-direction. The automated stage (54) includes a linear stage for scanning the beam along the Y-direction.
