New developments in digital pathology: from telepathology to virtual pathology laboratory

Area of Science:

• Digital pathology
• Computational pathology
• Medical informatics

Background:

• Telepathology systems are technically mature, unlike emerging virtual pathology laboratories.
• Two models of virtual pathology laboratories are developing: distributed pathologists with distributed labs or centralized labs.
• Telepathology facilitates e-learning and e-training in pathology, as seen in Digital Lung Pathology resources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the current status and future development of computerized diagnostic pathology.
• To explore the integration of telepathology and virtual laboratories in diagnostic workflows.
• To assess the potential of virtual pathology for e-learning and e-training.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of existing telepathology and virtual pathology systems.
• Description of two emerging virtual pathology laboratory models (distributed and centralized).
• Evaluation of e-learning platforms and their integration into virtual pathology workflows.

Main Results:

• Telepathology is a mature technology supporting virtual pathology.
• Mode a virtual pathology (distributed pathologists, distributed labs) shows promising initial results using the iPATH server.
• Mode b virtual pathology (centralized lab) faces challenges with full slide digitalization quality and transfer.

Conclusions:

• Telepathology is a key driver for the development of virtual pathology institutions.
• Industrial and scientific efforts are expected to implement virtual pathology within two years.
• Virtual pathology integrates e-learning and e-teaching with clinical workflows.