Remote Digital Second Opinions: Pioneering Global Patient Care

Imagine a future where accessing world-class diagnostic expertise is just a click away for any patient, anywhere. In this episode you will learn how remote digital second opinions, a specialized application of digital pathology, can drive global adoption of digital pathology  and significantly expand access to patient care. 

Together with Dr. Raj Singh, founder of PathPresenter, we explore this cutting-edge approach that promises to transcend current digital pathology uses, making specialized medical consultations more accessible and efficient than ever before.

The Evolution of Digital Pathology

Digital pathology is rapidly becoming indispensable in modern healthcare. It equips pathologists with advanced digital tools and platforms, significantly boosting the speed and scope of diagnoses.  Remote second opinion has a transformative role here. By leveraging digital slides and cloud-based infrastructure, pathologists can collaborate seamlessly across distances, breaking down geographical barriers like never before.

PathPresenter: Filling the Gaps in Pathology Workflow

Dr. Singh unfolds the story behind PathPresenter, highlighting its inception, mission, and the significant void it fills within the pathology field. PathPresenter is more than a platform; it's a catalyst for bridging educational and clinical gaps in pathology. It enables effortless sharing and collaborative analysis of cases among pathologists globally, fostering a vast network of professional expertise.

Embracing the Digital Shift: A Call to Action

The shift towards digital workflows is not merely a technological leap but a comprehensive strategy to enhance patient care, ensuring diagnoses are faster, more accurate, and widely accessible.

The transition to digital pathology is inevitable and it is happening quickly.  Dr. Singh emphasizes the urgency for pathologists and healthcare institutions to adapt to these technological advances proactively. Proactive adoption will give us the power to decide how we want to implement digital pathology and what tools we want to use. If the pathology community does not take charge of this process it will be imposed on us by others. We don't want to figure out how to digitize slides in a panic mode when other specialties require it for patient care. We want to be in the drivers seat and guide the patient care according to the most up-to-date pathology expertise. 

Why This Matters More Than Ever

In an era where healthcare demands are ever-increasing, and the need for specialized knowledge is paramount, digital pathology and remote second opinions present an unprecedented opportunity. This application democratizes access to expert diagnostics, ensuring patients, regardless of location, receive the best care possible.

 It's more than an advancement; it's a new way of thinking about and delivering pathology services. Explore the vast possibilities remote second opinions offer and how they serve as a bridge to a more connected, efficient, and patient-centric healthcare system.


THIS EPISODE'S RESOURCES

• PathPresenter website
• Pervious episode with Dr. Raj Singh (when PathPresenter was just for presentations:)
  
  

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

Today our special guest is Dr. Keith Kaplan, the creator of TissuePathology.com himself! The publisher of a platform that inspired the creation of Digital Pathology Place. 

The Digital Pathology Trailblazer on the Web

Dr. Keith Kaplan, a surgical pathologist  and a pivotal figure in the digital pathology community, has significantly contributed to the field with his groundbreaking website, tissuepathology.com. His passion and dedication have made his platform the first resource many turn to when searching for anything related to digital pathology.

From Traditional to Digital

Dr. Kaplan's unique journey in pathology began in Chicago, shaped by his military service and academic path at Northwestern University. His early exposure to telepathology and digital imaging during his military tenure set the stage for his impactful venture into digital pathology, initiating a transformative career trajectory.

TissuePathology.com: A Pioneering Platform

Dr. Kaplan launched tissuepathology.com, driven by his enthusiasm for utilizing the internet to disseminate knowledge. This platform quickly became a leading blog in the digital pathology realm, motivating others to establish their blogs and engage in the dynamic digital pathology conversation.

The Evolution of Digital Pathology

Keith's  work with robotic telepathology and his involvement in deploying digital pathology solutions across various settings highlight the significant advancements in the field. His stories of early digital pathology efforts, including the deployment of systems for military applications and the subsequent adoption in civilian medical practice, showcase the progressive integration of technology in pathology.

Embracing Change: The Digital Shift

Recently Dr. Kaplan's practice  transitioned to digital pathology for primary diagnosis. The integration of digital pathology has streamlined diagnostic processes, enabling faster and more efficient patient care despite initial reservations about moving away from traditional microscopy.

Future Directions and Ongoing Challenges

Looking ahead,  the future of digital pathology will be impacted by AI and the ongoing pathology workforce shortage. Keith emphasizes the need for the pathology community to adapt and embrace new technologies while also addressing regulatory, ethical, and practical challenges. 

THIS EPISODE's RESOURCES:

• THIS EPISODE's RESOURCES:
  • Ten important lessons we have learned as pathology bloggers (Paper)
  • First 100 days of using digital pathology (LinkedIn post)
  • Digital pathology is just pathology, but does it matter anymore? (LinkedIn article)
  • Dr. Keith Kaplan's blog tissuepathology.com
  • Digital Pathology Club - course membership

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

This is the audio version of the first brand new DIGITAL PATHOLOGY NEWSLETTER. that should have already landed in your inbox if you are subscribed to my list.

If not you can join here (and get the PDF of my book for free!)

THIS EPISODE'S RESOURCES:

• Interesting DP Research & Developments
  • Swarm learning for decentralized artificial intelligence in cancer histopathology
• Interviews & Opinion from DP Experts
  • Last podcast episode with Dr. Talat Zehra about how AI is transforming pathology in developing countries
• Educational Resources
  • "Digital Pathology 101. All you need to know to start and continue your digital pathology journey"- Book
• Cool DP Equipment
  • Unboxing and Setup of a Microscope Monitor Display
• Quick Bullet Updates of What I'm Up To
  • Reading Digital Pathology Papers with Text to Speech Software | Natural Reader review
    
    

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

The Future Landscape of Digital Pathology: Insights from Kate Lillard Tunstall, Indica Labs

What insights can be gained from a 12-year-long digital pathology journey as part of one of the leading tissue image analysis solution providers? A lot has happened in that time and Kate Lillard Tunstall, the Chief Scientific Officer at Indica Labs, shares her vast knowledge and experiences in this podcast episode. With a career spanning over a decade, Kate has witnessed firsthand the transformative shifts in the industry.

The Genesis of Halo:

Kate reminisced about the early days of Indica Labs and the birth of their core product, the Halo platform. Designed with precision and adaptability in mind, Halo has become a beacon in the digital pathology and tissue image analysis landscape. The platform's name, inspired by the unique halo-like appearance around cells visible during image analysis, showcases Indica Labs' attention to detail and their connection to the core of pathology.

Services Beyond Software:

Indica Labs isn't just about software; they offer a plethora of services tailored to the needs of the pharma sector and beyond. Their pharma services team, which has been around the longest, acts as a bridge between product development and real-world application. By serving as an internal customer, this team ensures that Indica Labs' offerings are not only cutting-edge but also practical and user-friendly.

Embracing the AI Revolution:

The integration of AI into digital pathology was a significant pivot point for Indica Labs. Kate candidly shared her initial skepticism towards AI's role in pathology. However, witnessing the profound impact of deep learning, especially in tissue classification, turned her into a believer. By 2017, Indica Labs had fully embraced AI, setting itself apart in the industry.

Looking Ahead:

Kate's vision for the future is a world where digital pathology isn't the exception but the norm. As more hospitals and health systems go digital, the volume of data will skyrocket. This data surge, combined with the power of AI, promises unprecedented advancements in pathology. Kate also shared lessons from Strata, a project aimed at merging image analysis data with patient data. Spoiler alert - the project was not pursued, but the challenges it faced underscored the importance of innovation adaptability and a deep understanding of customer needs in the world of digital pathology.

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Dive into the world of digital pathology and stay updated with the latest breakthroughs. Subscribe now! 

• For those eager to delve deeper, join the Digital Pathology Club and 
• secure your copy of the e-book "Digital Pathology 101" 

----------------------------------------------------

#DigitalPathology #PathologyInnovations #IndicaLabs #AIRevolution #Halo #FutureTrends

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

Get the PDF of "Digital Pathology 101" Book here

Image analysis has supported pathology since the introduction of whole slide scanners to the market, and when deep learning entered the scene of computer vision tissue image analysis gained superpowers.

There are regulatory compliant AI-based image analysis tools available for practicing pathology around the globe.

So what shall you do, just embrace them and start using?

I would learn a bit about image analysis and AI first, to be able to make an informed decision.

Good news, you can get all the information needed for this informed decision from this very chapter of the "Digital Pathology 101" book that I have published for you. 

From Chapter 3 you will learn the fundamentals of tissue image analysis and how it helps extract meaningful data from digital pathology images. 

We break it down into basic concepts like

•  regions and objects of interest, 
• matching computer vision techniques to pathology tasks, and the
•  differences between classical machine learning and AI-based deep learning approaches.  

Understanding these foundations sets the stage for appreciating how image analysis is applied in regulated clinical settings versus exploratory research environments. You will  learn the importance of quality control, because flawed data inputs inevitably lead to faulty outputs, regardless of the analysis method used.

Moving on, you will familiarize yourself with the key terminology from the world of artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

The chapter clarifies the meaning of concepts like 

• supervised learning, 
• GPUs, 
• data augmentation, and 
• heat maps. 

It emphasizes how techniques like 

• patching and 
• data augmentation 

enable the training of machine learning algorithms on large datasets.

 
Ultimately, by comprehending this terminology and the basics of tissue image analysis, you'll gain clarity on how these tools can provide decision support to pathologists through computer-aided diagnosis. Rather than seeing AI as a black box, you'll have insight into how it arrives at its outputs. 

With this balanced understanding, you'll be equipped to make discerning choices about embracing AI tools in your pathology practice, leveraging their benefits while being aware of current limitations. 

Stay tuned as we continue unpacking the transformative potential of digital pathology!
Talk to you in chapter 4!

-------------------------------------------------------

Get the PDF of "Digital Pathology 101" Book here

Get the paper copy  of "Digital Pathology 101" on AMAZON

Watch the "Digital Pathology 101" Book Launch here

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

This is the second part of the first chapter of the recently published “Digital Pathology 101” book. 

This part of the chapter addresses a question that I keep hearing from those just entering the world of digital pathology: “Will pathologists lose their jobs now, that algorithms can be developed to diagnose disease?”

The short answer is “No”.

Keep reading for the explanation why not.

The Rise of Deep Learning

One of the most notable trends has been the rise of deep learning and AI in digital pathology. These advanced techniques are being embraced by the pathology community to analyze complex issues from sclerotic glomeruli through liver fibrosis to different types of cancer. The user-friendliness of new tools powered by deep learning makes it accessible even for non-experts.

Industry Paradigm Shifts  

Several paradigm shifts are occurring in the digital pathology industry:

• Transition from handcrafted algorithms to deep learning
• Shift to cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions 
• Movement towards pathologist decision support systems rather than fully autonomous analysis
• Enhanced user-friendliness of digital pathology software
• 
  

Empowering Pathologists

An important change has been the emphasis on empowering pathologists with decision support systems rather than replacing them with algorithms. The goal is to accelerate the case review process without compromising accuracy or integrity. Pathologists remain responsible for the final diagnosis.

Blending Analog and Digital Worlds

Some innovative companies are pioneering solutions to blend traditional microscopes and digital pathology, such as Augmentics' augmented reality microscope cameras or systems used by Smart in Media. This allows professionals to collaborate in real-time and apply algorithms while still using the cherished microscope. 

Personalized Digital Pathology 

The industry has moved away from a one-size-fits-all approach to personalized solutions tailored to each institution's workflow and challenges. This shift leverages the power of deep learning while enhancing user experience.

The trusted microscope remains an essential part of pathology, but digital solutions open new doors for analysis and efficiency. As this field evolves, quality control and understanding the capabilities and limitations of technology is crucial.

Exciting times are ahead in digital pathology! Be sure to listen to the full podcast episode for an in-depth discussion.

-------------------------------------------------------

Get the PDF of "Digital Pathology 101" Book here

Get the paper copy  of "Digital Pathology 101" on AMAZON

Read the original blog post "New Trends and Paradigm Shifts in the Digital Pathology Industry"

Watch the "Digital Pathology 101" Book Launch here

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

Transitioning from whole slide to digital pathology isn’t just a shift—it’s a true evolution. Derek Holzhauser, CIO, and Zoe Vayanos, Manager of Operations at The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs guide us through the QAP’s transition to digital technology. Get an inside look at their journey, explore the practical impact of this transformation, and learn about the new opportunities it unlocked.

• Derek Holzhauser, CIO, The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs
• Zoe Vayanos, Manager of Operations, The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs
  
  

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [01:02] Zoe and Derek delve into the QAP's mission and share how they've achieved greater sample consistency using digital pathology
• [10:16] What sets the Sectra platform apart from other options
• [13:34] Current AI initiatives by the QAP, including a comparison of AI scoring with human assessment    
• [19:52] Challenges currently faced by the QAP
• [27:41] Advantages offered by cloud technology in the context of digital pathology
• [32:51] Whether the advantages of transitioning to digital pathology outweigh the associated costs

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

• The transition from whole slide to digital pathology is a pivotal evolution in the field. 
• Sectra’s digital pathology solution facilitates the expansion of digital imaging across disciplines and reduces reliance on USB devices. 
• The adoption of Sectra’s platform allows for scanner upgrades, resulting in a notable enhancement in image quality.
• The ability to expand their virtual program enables the QAP to extend its services to remote regions, bridging gaps in access to pathologists and ultimately enhancing education and patient care.
• While the cloud offers many benefits for digital pathology, the decision to adopt cloud technology varies for each organization and should be tailored to their unique needs. 

RESOURCE LINKS

Article: Driving the transition to digital pathology (November 2022)

Sectra Website

How is digital pathology used in clinical trials? Because digital pathology as a discipline began with the aim of streamlining clinical trials, one could assume that this is currently the default.
Unfortunately, this is not the case… In today's discussion, our guest, Dr. Monika Lamba, a pathologist from Q2 Solutions, the lab division of IQVIA, sheds light on how digital pathology revolutionizes the landscape of clinical trials but also where we can still see the gaps.

In this engaging conversation, we discover how the origins of telepathology marked the inception of digital pathology and its journey to becoming an essential component of clinical trials.
Dr. Lamba walks us through the complexities of clinical trials, their organization, and patient matching across multiple sites and international boundaries.

As we unravel the role of pathology in clinical trials, we delve into how eligibility criteria, participant engagement, and informed consent are intricately woven into the process. Dr. Lamba educates us on the critical role of pathology in stratifying and randomizing patients, as well as evaluating outcome measures.
 
From disease staging to pathologic complete response assessments, pathology guides the way toward precision medicine and targeted therapies. Don't miss this captivating episode where we explore the synergy between digital pathology and clinical trials, paving the path for medical advancements and transformative healthcare solutions. Tune in now to expand your horizons on the ever-evolving intersection of digital pathology and clinical trials.

Start your 7-day free trial: Digital Pathology Club Membership


EPISODES YOU WILL ALSO ENJOY:

• Is this the year of AI in Pathology? And what about ChatGPT? A crossover podcast with "Beyond the Scope"
• What you need to know about Digital Pathology Trends: Takeaways from the DP&AI Global Engage Event w/ Giovanni Lujan, Ohio State University

DIGITAL PATHOLOGY RESOURCES:

•  Digital Pathology Club Membership
• Bridging the Gap between Pathology and Computer Science - FREE Online Course
• Digital Pathology Starter Kit

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

Bringing Science into the Clinic with Prof. Anant Madabhushi

Translational research - what is it actually? How do you do it? 

I can already tell you how not to do it - halfheartedly. 

If you want to translate your scientific discoveries into something that actually benefits patients, you need to do all in! 

And this is what my guest Prof. Anant Madabhushi from the Emory University and Georgia Tech has dedicated his entire professional career to. 

He offers his insights on what it really takes to "walk your scientific talk" and work as a truly translational researcher in the space of digital pathology, radiology and medical engineering. 

Listen to an in-depth discussion about conducting high-quality science and the rigorous journey of commercializing the research and actually benefiting the patients with it.

With his vast experience and profound understanding, Prof. Madabhushi gives us an insider's view of the effort and time required to successfully take a scientific discovery from the lab to a clinical trial, and then to the market. His perspective is enriched by his role as founder of several med tech companies, co-author of numerous high impact factor scientific publications, and a mentor and teacher to the next generation of brilliant computational pathology scientists.

THIS EPISODE'S RESOURCES:

• Anant Madabhushi on LinkedIn
• 🎥 Video from Anant's email signature
• 🎙️  Podcast with Rish Pai
• 📃 Paper "Deep computational image analysis of immune cell niches reveals treatment-specific outcome associations in lung cancer"
• 📃 Paper "Computerized tumor multinucleation index (MuNI) is prognostic in p16+ oropharyngeal carcinoma"
• ✅ Anant's company Picture Heath

DIGITAL PATHOLOGY RESOURCES:

• Bridging the Gap between Pathology and Computer Science - FREE Online Course
• Digital Pathology Starter Kit

Keywords: digital pathology, translational research, image biomarkers, clinical practice, healthcare professionals

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

Although digital pathology was supposed to be faster and more seamless than classical pathology on glass there are still many manual steps in the workflow. 

• Cleaning slides before scanning
• Loading the scanner
• Controlling the quality after scanning...

What if all this could be automated and all the manual work could be significantly reduced or even eliminated?

Well it can! With the 2nd generation of whole slide scanners powered with AI software, that can perform the tasks automatically during the scanning process.

And you don't even need to buy them to gain this benefit for your lab, because you can now buy digitization of your slides as a service from Pramana.

This episode's guest - Prasanth Perugupalli, the Chief Product Officer of Pramanaexplains exactly how it can be done and what was the journey to making it possible.

To learn more how it works and book a demo, visit:
https://pramana.ai/

THIS EPISODE'S RESOURCES:
Pramana's website

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO EXCLUSIVE, NON-CENSORED AND NON-POLISHED CONTENT?
Subscribe here

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

As much as I love Digital Pathology - things that are not always perfect, and the integrations of systems are not always seamless. We don't need to sugar coat it.

And the sooner we start talking about the things that are not so cool, the sooner we will be able to change them.

In this podcast episode I discuss the things that need to be improved with Puneet Pantane, the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Crosscope, where he leverages the power of new technologies such as AI, machine learning, and image processing to improve the research, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

In this episode we cover:

• What is Crosscope? Where is this company and what are they actually doing?
•  What is digital transformation? 
• Who are Crosscope's customers?
•  What is not working in digital pathology?
•  If we had a magic wand that can solve any digital pathology problem, what would NUMBER 1 PROBLEM to solve be?
  • Spoiler alert: Puneet - interoperability of systems
  • Aleks - reinventing the wheel in image analysis
• What digital pathology problems can be fixed immediately (the low hanging fruits)?
• How to  standardize digital pathology in small pieces?
  
  

If you want to learn more about Crosscope, click here

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

This episode is brought to you by Aiforia. Thank you Aiforia :)

Today you will learn how Raish Pai, MD, a busy, practicing pathologist from Mayo Clinic developed a complex supervised deep learning tissue image analysis model to quantify visual diagnostic features of colon cancer and in the process developed a model that can predict clinical outcome.

He used the deep learning-based tissue image analysis platform - Aiforia. 

The quantified features included:

• Stromal immune cell Infiltrates
• Immature stroma
• Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes
• Mucin
• Different growth patterns 
• & many others

THIS EPISODE'S RESOURCES:

• Podcast with Thomas Westerling-Bui, Aiforia: "What is Validation and how to validate and AI image analysis solution"
• Rish Pai's  publication "Quantitative Pathologic Analysis of Digitized Images of Colorectal Carcinoma Improves Prediction of Recurrence-Free Survival"
• Colon Cancer Family Registry website
• Podcast about the BIG PICTURE initiative "BigPicture - the largest whole slide repository for AI model development in pathology. Where do we stand at month 15/ 72?"

THIS EPISODE'S SPECIAL OFFER  "THE BETA COHORT"

Join and be part of the co-creation of the only online course like this in the digital pathology world "PATHOLOGY 101 FOR TISSUE IMAGE ANALYSIS".

Learn more about the AMAZING OFFER that awaits you when you join the BETA COHORT today!

!!! Limited time offer!!! The discount expires on November 27th 2022

Learn more HERE

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

As the digital pathology community is embarking on the journey of DICOM implementations questions we haven't asked ourselves arise...

• Is DICOM and image format or is it a standard? What is the difference?
• Are all the DICOM images the same or do they differ?
• how do the differences influence the technology developments and workflows?
• Is there a single best way of implementing DICOM or do we need to keep iterating?
• And who can help us on this journey?

Who would be a better guest to talk about it than the DICOM standard editor himself, Dr. David Clunie?

This podcast episode is a recording of a live broadcast we had together recently where he answers all the abovementioned questions and some more!

If you are thinking of using or implementing DICOM for your digital pathology journey, be sure to listen to this episode!

THIS EPISODE'S RESOURCES:

• DICOM pathology whole slide image repository (click on the histopathology image to access)
• Contact David Clunie at: dclunie@dclunie.com
• Watch on YouTube

OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

• DICOM standard for pathology annotations. Why do we need it? W/ David Clunie, PixelMed Publishing

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

Join me for the FREE Independent Digital Pathology Event "Bridging the Gap Between Pathology and Computer Science" 👇
REGISTER HERE

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

Did you know that pathology diagnostics through a smartphone is a thing?
Really and officially! It is called static telecytology and a lot has already been published on it (see RESOURCES BELOW).

This episode's guest, Dr. Kate Baker, a veterinary clinical pathologist, developed a smartphone app for veterinary telecytology! This digital pathology smartphone app is called pocket pathologist and let's you get access to a veterinary pathologist opinion remotely.

This app was developed for practicing veterinarians who want or need to consult telecytology cases with a board certified pathologist.

This technology can be used for other areas of static telepathology including rapid on site evaluation (ROSE) and Dr. Kate is giving us a sneak peek into the app development and how it was for a veterinarian to work with an app development team (and NO, it does not cost a million dollars  ).

This great little tool for remote pathology diagnostics is a proof that anyone, regardless of their budget can leverage the power of digital pathology to offer or access better care for their patients. You only need a microscope, a smartphone and smartphone adapter (to save time and take better pictures).

So don't hesitate to check it out: https://www.pocketpathologist.com/
THIS EPISODE'S RESOURCES:

• PREVIOUS PODCAST EPISODE WITH KATE: Digital veterinary cytology and social media teaching w/ Kate Baker, Veterinary Cytology Schoolhouse
• POCKET PATHOLOGIST APP 
• KATE'S WEBSITE - VETERINARY CYTOLOGY SCHOOLHOUSE 
• KATE'S VETERINARY CYTOLOGY ONLINE COURSES 
• SKOPED MICRO PHONE ATTACHMENT 
• IMPACT OF PHOTOGRAPHER EXPERIENCE AND NUMBER OF IMAGES ON TELECYTOLOGY ACCURACY. (Veterinary Clinical Pathology - Journal Article)
• HOW TO TAKE STUNNING MICROSCOPIC IMAGES WITH YOUR PHONE - DOWNLOADABLE GUIDE
• THE VETERINARY CYTOLOGY SCHOOLHOUSE FACEBOOK GROUP

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

A common misconception about digital pathology is that it is synonymous with whole slide imaging and has a high price point. This is not the case, as one can enter the digital pathology world and benefit from what it has to offer with a simple microscope camera. If we would like a more sophisticated solution, but don't want to get a whole slide scanner or don't have the use case or business case to justify it, no worries, there is enough to choose from!

In this episode, Mike Miller from I.Miller Microscopes is taking us through all the different levels and price points of digital pathology solutions from a simple microscope camera to a whole slide scanner explaining everything in between. 

The digital pathology solutions discussed in this episode include:

1. Simple microscope camera + imaging software for image capture
   • For teaching and learning
   • For capturing static images
     • presentations
     • publications
     • tumor boards
   • For screen sharing on communication platforms (e.g. zoom, teams, etc.)
2. Microscope camera with a network port allowing for live streaming
   • For intraoperative evaluation by an on-site or off-site pathologist
     • fine-needle aspirates
     • frozen sections
3.  Live remote control telepathology system
   1. Live remote control telepathology system with low throughput screening capabilities (aka hybrid system)
      • For use in remote areas without access to pathologists
4. Whole slide scanners
   • For high throughput digital pathology workflows on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) material

Listen to the full episode to learn the details and the price points of each solution!

This episode resources:

• I. Miller Microscopes website
• Microscope central website
• Path 4k  - high-resolution microscope camera
  • [DPP FAVORITE] Digital Pathology Place is a proud affiliate for the Path4K microscope camera, if you are interested in a quote, fill the form in the link and simply write in the message that you heard about it on our podcast.

Episodes you might also like:

• Digital pathology in a suitcase. How Grundium's portable whole slide scanning microscope expands the reach of telepathology w/ Mika Kuisma, Grundium

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

Visiopharm is a company offering image analysis software used on pathology images. The software has been on the market for over 20 years and has evolved through the transition of digital microscopy to digital pathology. Digital microscopy provided static tissue images captured through the microscope camera and only branched out into digital pathology with the wider availability and adoption of whole slide scanners. Image analysis spans digital microscopy and digital pathology, and image analysis methods had to evolve in parallel with the imaging technologies to address the hypercomplex pathology problems. 

The complexity of digital pathology problems and research questions increases with every additional stain and scientific discovery. Visiopharm’s team challenged themselves by providing an image analysis solution capable of addressing this hypercomplexity and enabling researchers to advance scientifically with their tool. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities applied to computer vision problems took tissue image analysis to a whole new level and incorporating AI into the Visiopharm software tremendously increased the accessibility of this method. 

In addition to the two well-known technologies that enabled digital pathology breakthroughs (whole slide imaging and AI), two other important advancements happened during the last two decades

·       emphasis on interoperability between different digital pathology systems 

·       advances in the field of data visualization. 

Together these four components are driving the progress of digital pathology both on the diagnostic and research front. 

During the last 20 years Visiopharm grew significantly, both organically and through funding and they continue creating value and powerful image analysis tools for the tissue image analysis community. 

Listen to the full episode with Visiopharm’s CEO Michael Grunkin to learn more about this 20-year perspective on what happened in the field of digital microscopy and digital pathology. 

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

In this episode, we talk with Heather Couture about how to make deep learning models for tissue image analysis more robust to domain shift.

Supervised deep learning has made a strong mark in the histopathology image analysis space, however, this is a data-centric approach. We train the image analysis solution on whole slide images and want them to perform on other whole slide images - images we did not train on.

The assumption is that the new images will be similar to the ones we train the image analysis solution on, but how similar do they need to be? And what is domain and domain shift?

Domain: a group of similar whole slide images (WSI). E.g., WSIs coming from the same scanner or coming from the same lab. We train our deep learning model on these WSIs, so we call it our source domain. We later want to use this model and target a different group of images, e.g. images from a different scanner or a different lab - our target domain.

When applying a model trained on a source domain to a target domain we shift the domain and the domain shift can have consequences for the model performance. Because of the differences in the images the model usually performs worse...

How can we prevent it or minimize the damage?

Listen to Heather explain the following 5 ways to handle the domain shift:

1. Standardize the appearance of your images with stain normalization techniques
2. Color augmentation during training to take advantage of variations in staining
3. Domain adversarial training to learn domain-invariant features
4. Adapt the model at test time to handle the new image distribution
5. Finetune the model on the target domain

Click here to read Heather's full article on making histopathology image analysis models more robust to domain shift.

Visit Pixel Scientia Labs here.

And listen to our previous episode titled "Why machine learning expertise is needed for digital pathology projects" here to learn more about the subjects and learn how Heather and her company can help.

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

Are you looking for a whole slide scanner for your digital pathology projects? In this podcast episode Doug Stapleton, the Service Manager of the digital slide scanner division of Hamamatsu, is guiding us through this process.  

He is listing 10 questions you need to ask before purchasing a whole slide scanner tailored to your digital pathology needs.

Question 1: What is your budget and throughput?

Question 2: What is your intended use now and in the future? Brightfield, immunofluorescence or both?

Question 3: What is the cross-organizational demand for scanning services?

Question 4: How much space do you need in the lab for your scanner?

Question 5: What size of pathology slides do you want to scan? Standard size or non-standard?

Question 6: What magnification will you be scanning at? 20x, 40x or other?

Question 7: Is it just the whole slide scanner or does it come with additional equipment?

Question 9: How easy is it to scan the slides? How many times do you need to click?

Question 10: How does the whole slide scanner integrate with other systems in your lab?

Bonus Question 11: Are any extras included in the package?

              Is there a special functionality that you are interested in, such as: 

-          telepathology capabilities

-          virtual slide conferences

-          slide annotations 

-          or cloud storage options?

Hamamatsu offers all of these functions which makes them a potential one-stop-shop for all your digital pathology needs.

Answer the questions above and you will gain clarity on what you really need. Equipped with this information you can start “scanner shopping.”

Just remember, no matter which scanner you choose, always dry and clean your slides before scanning!

Listen to the full episode to gain more insights or read the blog post based on this podcast episode.

This episode’s resources:

Hamamatsu digital pathology slide scanners

Doug Stapleton LinkedIn profile

How to choose a whole slide scanner for digital pathology – the ultimate guide (blog post).

How to choose a whole slide scanner for digital pathology – downloadable questionnaire + PDF of the blog article (save it to your digital pathology resources!)

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership

If you are working with immunohistochemistry (IHC) you know how challenging it can sometimes be to optimize all the steps in the process to obtain a high-quality stain. It often takes testing different antibodies, antibody concentrations, antigen retrieval methods, and incubation times.

What if there was a way to produce an IHC stain virtually, without antibodies or even the need to step into the lab?

Today's episode's guest is Victor Dillard, the commercial operation director of Owkin.
Owkin is a company leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning for medical image analysis and its offering includes virtual immunohistochemistry staining.  We talk about how it was developed, how it works, and how it can be deployed at interested institutions.

To learn more about Owkin visit https://owkin.com/

This episodes resources:
 Deep learning-based classification of mesothelioma improves prediction of patient outcome

Become a Digital Pathology Trailblazer and See you inside the club: Digital Pathology Club Membership