![]() The streaming technology also eases the strain on the hospital network since only 1-2 percent of the total image size needs to be transmitted to the reading pathologist. The workstation does not need to be of any high caliber, but more important is the graphic card and using a large enough megapixel monitor. The images are reviewed with a viewer and due to their size, they should be streamed from the central server without any need to download the full image to the client. Regardless of what system drives the workflow, a desktop synchronization and a backend integration is necessary with the LIS. At the workstation, often referred to by vendors as the “digital cockpit”, the pathologist selects the case from a worklist in either the LIS system or the digital pathology system. This can include, for example, marking of rare events or the tumor area in an image. Once the digital image is produced, image analysis processing may be applied to the image to provide findings to the pathologist even before he or she opens the case, thus reducing tedious tasks. A central workflow engine is distributing the right case to the right pathologist giving pathologists access to images independent of location. ![]() The image is sent to a central archive together with case ID, staining and block information that is read on the glass barcode. The fully digital workflowĪ preferred digital pathology system starts with the digitization of the glass slides made by a modality in the shape of a slide scanner. The illustration above illustrates the different steps in the analog and digital workflow. These systems also make it almost impossible to integrate imaging from other specialties such as combining imaging from radiology and pathology.Īll in all, digitizing pathology makes very high demands on having a well-functioning and well-integrated IT system to handle the images. Local scanner storage solutions are not designed to manage the high volumes and high number of users needed or to interface with surrounding IT systems in a standardized and cost-efficient way. Keeping these images on local file shares is often not a cost-efficient solution from an IT standpoint. Hence, an exam contains roughly 5 GB of data. The image files for histopathology average around 0.5-1 GB each (when lossy compressed by the scanner) and a pathology case normally contains about 4-6 glass slides. The fundamental reason is the size of data processed in pathology. Now that pathology departments are moving from pilot projects and research to full digital workflows for diagnostics, these solutions have proved to be insufficient. They have not been integrated with the central IT infrastructure. Images in these limited projects have often been handled in separated local storage systems connected to the scanner. The experience of image management systems that most labs have is often limited to the scanner and viewer solution that they might have used for low volumes in a pilot or for research purposes. As image review has traditionally been made using physical glass and not digital images, pathology departments have not needed an image management system until very recently. The LIS drives the workflow in the lab quite independently of other IT systems. In most pathology departments, the LIS is the main IT system, which often works fine as a separate local system because of the limited number of interactions with other IT systems. The article also explains the risks in creating a new departmental silo and shows why it makes sense from both a clinical and economic perspective to make a digital pathology solution part of an enterprise imaging solution. In this article, we outline the department-specific requirements for which pathology will need a digital solution. It is an enabler in meeting the clinical demands of increased efficiency and improved quality of care. Some abbreviations are capitalized, though in this case it is not customary, as you can see from the dictionary entry.Īdded: The last post in this thread confirms my memory: Forming the plural of an abbreviation: The rule about using the apostrophe to form the plural of an abbreviation has changed.Digitizing pathology is a key step in improving cancer care. That also may explain the initial capital. However, the author of the note may have used the apostrophe here because silo is an abbreviation of silhouette. In any case, it is not considered correct now. As I remember it, one of these uses was with abbreviations - but I may be mistaken. We sometimes use apostrophes with 'awkward plurals' - e.g, "mind your p's and q's" - to make them more understandable to a reader. This is done in to make the object stand out. Clipping paths are created in image editing applications like Adobe Photoshop to cut a product shot, person or other object from the surrounding background. Short for silhouette, which itself is another word for a clipping path.
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