Our system enables two pathologists to collaborate together, each with the ability to simultaneously move the slide, change magnification, or annotate the slide remotely in real time
Anil V Parwani
Digital pathology proved invaluable with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. After analysing the steps involved in creating and delivering glass slides, the pathology department staff identified many potential risk points for cross-contamination of touch points for glass slides, cardboard slide folders, and the paperwork generated to accompany the slides on each case. Whole slide imaging processing and reporting required far fewer. Since the pandemic began in early 2020, the number of pathologists using WSI increased significantly. ‘One significant advantage of DP to our department include better prevention of errors during slide scanning and case entry when reviewing slides and completing reports,’ Parwani pointed out. ‘Our system verifies the barcode label on the glass slides digitally, prior to attaching the image to the case. We have WSI annotation capabilities and a measurement tool allowing precise microscopic measurements of tumour size, invasion depth, and distance to surgical margins. Slides can be viewed side by side, enabling easier comparison of an H&E (haematoxylin and eosin) stain image and its corresponding immunohistochemical or special stained slides. Our system enables two pathologists to collaborate together, each with the ability to simultaneously move the slide, change magnification, or annotate the slide remotely in real time.’
‘Intraoperative consultation,’ he said, ‘did not see significant changes in the use of DP tools as a result of the pandemic. But we believe that DP contributed to reducing the risk of virus transmission to our staff because we could decrease the number of in-person interactions, as well as the number of individuals handling slides and other material. We look forward to the continuing development of AI tools which will help us do our job even better.’
Profile:
Professor Anil V Parwani is the vice chair and director of anatomical pathology at Ohio State University, and director of pathology informatics at The James Cancer Hospital. His expertise includes the design of quality assurance tools, bio banking informatics, clinical and research data integration, applications of whole slide imaging, telepathology, image analysis and lab automation. He is also editor-in-chief of Diagnostic Pathology and an editor of the Journal of Pathology Informatics.
Source: Healthcare in Europe
