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Constant Quest for Quality: Digital Cytopathology

Digital surgical pathology is now accepted as equivalent to traditional microscopy for diagnostic accuracy, with z-axis capability  or specific scanning parameters required for accuracy in some small biopsy specimens. Overall, studies show that diagnostic accuracy using digital cytopathology is not inferior and is sometimes superior, to using a glass slide and microscope, but results are dependent on the number of planes acquired in the z-axis on whole-slide imaging (WSI), the distance between planes and whether the z-stacks are attached as focal annotations. [...] Glass slides need to be cleaned and checked to be free of marks both to the macroscopic and microscopic eye. This includes removing screening marks, fingerprints, and dust, before scanning. An ideal cleaning solution is isopropyl alcohol (alcohol wipes) with glass slides then being dried with soft-tissue wipes. [,,,] To better simulate a traditional microscope, smooth three-dimensional focus over the entire WSI is important in cytopathology. Zeiss [...] [AxioImager] Z2 microscope (Carl Zeiss, Germany) and Metafer [...] [VSlide] scanning system [...] have given the laboratory the ability to automatically z-stack entire Pap-stained wet-fixed slides allowing focus into cell collections on different planes in the z-axis on appropriately selected slides.

Cited From: Journal of Pathology Informatics (2018) Read more...
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