Clinical Scorecard: Industry Insights: Scanning the Path Ahead
At a Glance
Category
Detail
Condition
Digital pathology and digital slide scanning
Key Mechanisms
Digital scanning enables screen-based slide review. The interviewee describes potential future workflows in which scanning and AI analysis occur in parallel, with preliminary case triage. Quality-control algorithms can assess image focus and quality and aspects of tissue or sample preparation.
Target Population
Pathologists, pathology students and residents, technicians, and laboratories considering or using digital pathology.
Care Setting
Pathology laboratory workflows involving slide scanning, digital image review, and quality control.
Key Highlights
The interviewee identifies scanner and system cost, along with established microscope habits, as barriers to wider adoption.
The interviewee says residents and pathology students are increasingly trained using digital pathology and that some entering practice seek laboratories with established digital workflows.
The interviewee describes a potential future in which scanning and AI analysis occur in parallel, with preliminary case triage.
Automated quality control can assess image focus and quality, flag images that do not meet required standards, and identify aspects of tissue or sample preparation.
The interviewee says affordability needs greater focus across the industry to make digital pathology more accessible to laboratories.
Guideline-Based Recommendations
Diagnosis
Management
The interviewee says affordability should receive greater industry focus to make digital pathology more accessible to laboratories.
The interviewee describes parallel scanning and AI analysis, including preliminary triage, as a potential future direction.
Monitoring & Follow-up
The interview describes quality-control algorithms that assess image focus and quality and flag images that do not meet required standards.
The interviewee says quality-control systems can also assess aspects of tissue or sample preparation.
Risks
The interviewee says poor-quality slides can produce poor-quality images, and analytics may not perform as intended on those images.
The interview identifies high costs and adjustment from microscope-based work habits to digital interfaces as adoption barriers.
Patient & Prescribing Data
Not discussed; the article focuses on digital pathology technology and laboratory workflows.
No patient treatments or prescribing information are provided.
Clinical Best Practices
The interview describes assessing slide and image quality as part of digital scanning workflows.
The interview describes flagging images that do not meet required quality standards.
The interviewee notes that moving from microscope-based to digital workflows involves an adjustment period.
