Digital Pathology: Advantages, Limitations and Emerging Perspectives

Digital pathology is on the verge of becoming a mainstream option for routine diagnostics. Faster whole slide image scanning has paved the way for this development, but implementation on a large scale is challenging on technical, logistical, and financial levels. Comparative studies have published r...

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Main Authors: Stephan W. Jahn, Markus Plass, Farid Moinfar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
Series:Journal of Clinical Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/11/3697
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author Stephan W. Jahn
Markus Plass
Farid Moinfar
author_facet Stephan W. Jahn
Markus Plass
Farid Moinfar
author_sort Stephan W. Jahn
collection DOAJ
description Digital pathology is on the verge of becoming a mainstream option for routine diagnostics. Faster whole slide image scanning has paved the way for this development, but implementation on a large scale is challenging on technical, logistical, and financial levels. Comparative studies have published reassuring data on safety and feasibility, but implementation experiences highlight the need for training and the knowledge of pitfalls. Up to half of the pathologists are reluctant to sign out reports on only digital slides and are concerned about reporting without the tool that has represented their profession since its beginning. Guidelines by international pathology organizations aim to safeguard histology in the digital realm, from image acquisition over the setup of work-stations to long-term image archiving, but must be considered a starting point only. Cost-efficiency analyses and occupational health issues need to be addressed comprehensively. Image analysis is blended into the traditional work-flow, and the approval of artificial intelligence for routine diagnostics starts to challenge human evaluation as the gold standard. Here we discuss experiences from past digital pathology implementations, future possibilities through the addition of artificial intelligence, technical and occupational health challenges, and possible changes to the pathologist’s profession.
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spelling doaj.art-4391134362f1413db962cb047c44d36e2023-11-20T21:21:38ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832020-11-01911369710.3390/jcm9113697Digital Pathology: Advantages, Limitations and Emerging PerspectivesStephan W. Jahn0Markus Plass1Farid Moinfar2Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Neue Stiftingtalstraße 6, 8010 Graz, AustriaDiagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Neue Stiftingtalstraße 6, 8010 Graz, AustriaDiagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Neue Stiftingtalstraße 6, 8010 Graz, AustriaDigital pathology is on the verge of becoming a mainstream option for routine diagnostics. Faster whole slide image scanning has paved the way for this development, but implementation on a large scale is challenging on technical, logistical, and financial levels. Comparative studies have published reassuring data on safety and feasibility, but implementation experiences highlight the need for training and the knowledge of pitfalls. Up to half of the pathologists are reluctant to sign out reports on only digital slides and are concerned about reporting without the tool that has represented their profession since its beginning. Guidelines by international pathology organizations aim to safeguard histology in the digital realm, from image acquisition over the setup of work-stations to long-term image archiving, but must be considered a starting point only. Cost-efficiency analyses and occupational health issues need to be addressed comprehensively. Image analysis is blended into the traditional work-flow, and the approval of artificial intelligence for routine diagnostics starts to challenge human evaluation as the gold standard. Here we discuss experiences from past digital pathology implementations, future possibilities through the addition of artificial intelligence, technical and occupational health challenges, and possible changes to the pathologist’s profession.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/11/3697digital pathologymachine learningartificial intelligencewhole slide imagingoccupational healthcomputer vision syndrome
spellingShingle Stephan W. Jahn
Markus Plass
Farid Moinfar
Digital Pathology: Advantages, Limitations and Emerging Perspectives
Journal of Clinical Medicine
digital pathology
machine learning
artificial intelligence
whole slide imaging
occupational health
computer vision syndrome
title Digital Pathology: Advantages, Limitations and Emerging Perspectives
title_full Digital Pathology: Advantages, Limitations and Emerging Perspectives
title_fullStr Digital Pathology: Advantages, Limitations and Emerging Perspectives
title_full_unstemmed Digital Pathology: Advantages, Limitations and Emerging Perspectives
title_short Digital Pathology: Advantages, Limitations and Emerging Perspectives
title_sort digital pathology advantages limitations and emerging perspectives
topic digital pathology
machine learning
artificial intelligence
whole slide imaging
occupational health
computer vision syndrome
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/11/3697
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