Evaluating whole slide imaging: A working group opportunity

Whole slide imaging is believed to have the potential to replace the use of an optical microscope as the means of reviewing histopathology for anatomic diagnosis. Potential benefits include: Improve efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility to high-quality pathology review, and potentially improve diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility. Many parties including practicing and academic pathologists, manufacturers, health system administrators, regulators, and patients-want to see the widespread adoption of safe and effective digital pathology. The widespread adoption of digital pathology has faced some obstacles; paramount of which manual interpretation has been the gold standard for over a century, but additionally economics, infrastructure, workflow, and concerns that whole slide images may not be adequate for diagnostic need. This last point is embodied by the fact that WSI has not been approved for broad use in the US due to a lack of regulatory science and data needed to assure safety and effectiveness. In an effort to advance the field of digital pathology, the authors propose an open working group focused on defining and characterizing the technical and clinical components related to digital pathology.