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. 2019 Jun:3:1-7.
doi: 10.1200/CCI.18.00146.

Pathology Image Exchange: The Dutch Digital Pathology Platform for Exchange of Whole-Slide Images for Efficient Teleconsultation, Telerevision, and Virtual Expert Panels

Affiliations

Pathology Image Exchange: The Dutch Digital Pathology Platform for Exchange of Whole-Slide Images for Efficient Teleconsultation, Telerevision, and Virtual Expert Panels

Paul J van Diest et al. JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Among the many uses of digital pathology, remote consultation, remote revision, and virtual slide panels may be the most important ones. This requires basic slide scanner infrastructure in participating laboratories to produce whole-slide images. More importantly, a software platform is needed for exchange of these images and functionality to support the processes around discussing and reporting on these images without breaching patient privacy. This poses high demands on the setup of such a platform, given the inherent complexity of the handling of digital pathology images. In this article, we describe the setup and validation of the Pathology Image Exchange project, which aimed to create a vendor-independent platform for exchange of whole-slide images between Dutch pathology laboratories to facilitate efficient teleconsultation, telerevision, and virtual slide panels. Pathology Image Exchange was released in April 2018 after technical validation, and a first successful validation in real life has been performed for hematopathology cases.

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Conflict of interest statement

Paul J. van Diest

Consulting or Advisory Role: Panterhei (Inst)

Patents, Royalties, Other Intellectual Property: DDX3 as a biomarker for cancer and methods related thereto (Inst)

Jos Meijer

Consulting or Advisory Role: Philips Healthcare (Inst)

Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Philips Healthcare

Stefan Willems

Consulting or Advisory Role: Roche, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, MSD Oncology

Speakers' Bureau: Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, MSD Oncology, Pfizer

Michiel van den Brand

Honoraria: Gilead Sciences

Katrien Grünberg

Consulting or Advisory Role: Sakura Finetek Japan (Inst), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Inst), Roche (Inst)

Research Funding: Bristol-Myers Squibb (Inst), Illumina (Inst)

Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Roche, MSD Oncology

No other potential conflicts of interest were reported.

Figures

FIG 1.
FIG 1.
Conceptual architecture of Pathology Image Exchange (PIE), the Dutch national platform for exchange of whole-slide images between pathology laboratories. Based on the IHE XDS-i integration profile. IMS, Imaga Management System (also referred to as PACS; Picture Archiving and Communications System); kern U-DPS, integration component provided by the Dutch Pathology National Archive (PALGA) to laboratories to facilitate communication between central facilities and other laboratories; LIS, Laboratory Information System.
FIG 2.
FIG 2.
Screenshot of the Pathology Image Exchange (PIE) viewer.

References

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