Current opinion, status and future development of digital pathology in Switzerland.

Unternaehrer, Julia; Grobholz, Rainer; Janowczyk, Andrew; Zlobec, Inti (2020). Current opinion, status and future development of digital pathology in Switzerland. Journal of clinical pathology, 73(6), pp. 341-346. BMJ Publishing Group 10.1136/jclinpath-2019-206155

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AIMS

The transition from analogue to digital pathology (DP) is underway in Switzerland. To assess relevant experiences of pathologists with DP and gauge their outlook towards a digital future, a national survey was conducted by the Swiss Digital Pathology Consortium. Similar surveys were conducted in other countries, enabling a meta-analysis of DP experiences.

METHODS

Pathologists and residents were asked to complete a survey containing 12 questions. Results were compared with similar studies conducted in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, and India.

RESULTS

The estimated response rate among practicing pathologists and trainees nationwide was 39.5%. Of these, 89% have experience with digital slides, mainly for education (61%) and primary diagnostics (20%). Further, 32% have worked with an image analysis programme and 26% use computer-based algorithms weekly. Interestingly, 66% would feel comfortable making a primary diagnosis digitally, while 10% would not. Most respondents believe more standards and regulations are necessary for the clinical employment of DP. Noted advantages include ease of access to slides and the resulting connectivity benefits, namely collaboration with experts across disciplines, off-site work, training purposes, and computational image analysis. Perceived disadvantages include implementation costs and issues associated with IT infrastructure and file formats.

CONCLUSION

The survey results suggest that experiences and perspectives of Swiss pathologists concerning DP is comparable to that of the other reporting countries undergoing transitions to digital workflows. Although more standards and regulations are needed to ensure the safe usage of these technologies, pathologists in Switzerland appear welcoming of this new digital era.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Pathology 04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Pathology > Translational Research Unit
UniBE Contributor:	Zlobec, Inti
Subjects:	500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology 600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health
ISSN:	0021-9746
Publisher:	BMJ Publishing Group
Language:	English
Submitter:	Inti Zlobec
Date Deposited:	01 Feb 2021 14:07
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 15:43
Publisher DOI:	10.1136/jclinpath-2019-206155
PubMed ID:	31857377
Uncontrolled Keywords:	diagnostics digital pathology image analysis
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/150078