Digital pathology: Review of current opportunities and challenges for oral pathologists

Whole slide imaging (WSI) has impacted the practice of pathology in the arenas of education, clinical practice, and research. With digital slides, pathologists can circumvent the limitations of traditional glass. Presently, digital pathology is primarily utilized for second opinion consults, clinical conferences, and education at select academic medical centers, with its mainstream adoption on the rise. However, challenges of adoption for oral pathologists are unique given the highly specialized nature of their work. The hurdles include the high-cost instrumentation and regular maintenance, need for additional training, changes in traditional workflow, and integration with present software. Given these barriers, it remains unclear the extent to which slide scanning and virtual pathology should be adopted by oral pathologists at this conjuncture. This review seeks to shed light on the current state of WSI and analyzes the opportunities and challenges for oral pathology in the rapidly evolving field of digital pathology.