Photoshop - combine red and green channel images into a merged image?

Hi,

I am a developmental biologist carrying out experiments on a type of microscope known as a Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CSLM).  Basically, this is a microscope coupled to some lasers which allow fluorescently-labelled parts of a biological sample to be imaged in high detail.

For each sample there will be a set of two images produced, named and numbered as follows:

sample01_g.tif

sample01_r.tif

Each image represents one fluorescent wavelength and correspond to green ( g ) and red ( r ).  These images are in rgb colour.

I want to produce a merge of these two channels to generate a new TIFF file such that:

Green channel is taken from sample01_g.tif

Red channel is taken from sample01_r.tif

Which would show me how the different channels co-localise, or not.

This is fine to do by hand in Photoshop, but takes a long time when you have a couple of hundred images to process.  So, what I would like to do is write a script that batch automates the process, like a droplet.  I have the process outlined below:

1. Create a new RGB TIFF called sample01_merge.tif
2. Take the green channel from sample01_g.tif and copy it to the green channel of sample01_merge.tif
3. Take the red channel from sample01_r.tif and copy it to the red channel of sample01_merge.tif
4. Save sample01_merge.tif into a folder named "Merged Images" on the desktop
5. Close the opened images
6. Go to next set of images –> sample02_g.tif and sample02_r.tif
7. Create a new RGB TIFF called sample02_merge.tif....and go through step 2-6, untill the last set of images has been processed.

I have never used script before and would love to learn, but I am making slow progress and would like to have this problem solved sooner than I will be able to do so by myself.  So... I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how to go about doing this?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

I use a Mac Pro running OSX 10.8.3 and Photoshop CS6 Extended

Best regards,

John