ASCP 2019: Digital and Computational Pathology—The Future Is Now!

By Anil Parwani, MD, PhD, MBA, FASCP

Innovations and advances in computing power, information technology and the advent of new and powerful tools such as whole slide imaging, image analysis and next generation sequencing, have set the stage to empower pathologists and laboratory staff.

The practice of pathology is rapidly undergoing a transformation in which multiple tools, such as digital imaging, advanced algorithms, and computer-aided diagnostic techniques, are being linked with molecular pathology, resulting in increased diagnostic power based on the ability of today’s pathology laboratory to use these new tools and to interpret the data generated by them.

Automated whole slide imaging (WSI) scanners are now rendering diagnostic quality, high-resolution images of entire glass slides and combining these images with innovative digital pathology tools that are making it possible to integrate imaging into all aspects of pathology reporting, including anatomical, clinical and molecular pathology. The recent approval of a WSI scanner for primary diagnosis by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2017 has been instrumental in allowing labs to consider, for the first time in the United States, incorporating this exciting technology for use in primary diagnosis. Digital pathology systems are becoming “game changers” in a lab’s innovation road map and have the potential to be an integral component of the pathology practice today.

As labs adopt digital pathology workflow and the associated powerful technology of rapidly acquiring images and sharing them, they are preparing to leverage deep learning and artificial intelligence tools to augment the diagnostic workflow and enhanced decision-making support for the pathologists and the lab staff. Overall, this will be a revolutionary platform for innovations and advances in anatomical and clinical pathology for the future.    

At the ASCP 2019 Annual Meeting, I will present a session on September 11, “Use of Whole-Slide Imaging and Artificial Intelligence for Clinical Diagnostics: Current Applications and Future Directions,” which will focus on providing you with practical information related to use of WSI applications, as well as the current state of the technology and the regulatory and financial issues involved. I hope to see you there!

Learn more about education sessions at ASCP 2019 Annual Meeting here. 

Anil Parwani, MD, PhD, MBA, FASCP, is professor of Pathology and Biomedical Informatics, vice-chair of Anatomic Pathology, and director of Pathology Informatics and Digital Pathology Shared Resources at Wexner Medical Center, at The Ohio State University. He will present a session titled, “Use of Whole-Slide Imaging and Artificial Intelligence for Clinical Diagnostics: Current Applications and Future Directions,” on September 11 during the ASCP 2019 Annual Meeting in Phoenix.