Digital pathology and image analysis augment biospecimen annotation and biobank quality assurance harmonization

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Research
• Biobanking
• Pathology

Background:

• Standardizing biorepository best practices is crucial for high-quality translational research using patient-derived specimens.
• Pathology quality assurance (QA) for biobank accessions requires harmonization to match advancements in biospecimen research.
• Understanding the cellular content of biorepository specimens is vital for discovering tissue-specific biomarkers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the need for harmonized pathology QA procedures in biorepositories.
• To improve the annotation of biospecimen cellular makeup for effective specimen selection by researchers.
• To minimize pre-analytic variables and subjectivity in pathology evaluations within biobanks.

Main Methods:

• Incorporating digital pathology into biorepository QA procedures.
• Utilizing automated pattern recognition and morphometric image analysis on digital whole slide images.
• Quantifying tissue feature areas to assess cellular content and quality.

Main Results:

• Digital pathology minimizes variability and subjectivity in routine pathologic evaluations.
• Automated morphometric analysis provides objective quantification of tissue features.
• Whole-slide images and morphometric analyses can guide researcher specimen selection.

Conclusions:

• Harmonized digital pathology QA methods improve reproducibility in biorepositories.
• Enhanced specimen selection facilitates translational research and biomarker discovery.
• Integrated networks utilizing standardized digital pathology can advance biobanking.