Digital Pathology Workflow Implementation at IPATIMUP

Abstract

The advantages of the digital methodology are well known. In this paper, we provide a detailed description of the process for the digital transformation of the pathology laboratory at IPATIMUP, the major modifications that operate throughout the processing pipeline, and the advantages of its implementation. The model of digital workflow implementation at IPATIMUP demonstrates that careful planning and adoption of simple measures related to time, space, and sample management can be adopted by any pathology laboratory to achieve higher quality and easy digital transformation.

Keywords: digital pathology; implementation; telepathology; workflow.

Figure 1

The scanner is located at the heart of the laboratory surrounded by benches where specimens processing takes place.

Figure 2

Schematic representation of the laboratory organization. The gray areas represent pre-scanner workstations, the black area represents the scanner workstation, and the blue areas represent the post-scanner segments. The archive area corresponds to a transitory paraffin block archive. The stars sign the bottleneck areas. The black arrows comprehend physical traffic of samples, and the gray arrows represent traffic of digital information.

Figure 3

Containers with specimens are labeled with QR codes and photographed at arrival (A). Photographic documentation of the specimen is performed (B) as well as of the selected fragments inside the respective labeled cassettes (C).

Figure 4

Print screen of a whole slide image representing an immunohistochemistry staining of a specimen together with the set of 5 control tissue microarrays for routine utilization.