Swiss digital pathology recommendations: results from a Delphi process conducted by the Swiss Digital Pathology Consortium of the Swiss Society of Pathology

Andrew Janowczyk^{1

2

3}, Inti Zlobec⁴, Cedric Walker⁵, Sabina Berezowska⁶, Viola Huschauer⁷, Marianne Tinguely^{7

8}, Joel Kupferschmid⁹, Thomas Mallet¹⁰, Doron Merkler^{10

11}, Mario Kreutzfeldt^{10

11}, Radivoje Gasic¹², Tilman T Rau^{13

14}, Luca Mazzucchelli¹⁵, Isgard Eyberg¹⁶, Gieri Cathomas¹⁷, Kirsten D Mertz¹⁸, Viktor H Koelzer¹⁹, Davide Soldini²⁰, Wolfram Jochum²¹, Matthias Rössle²², Maurice Henkel^{23

24

25}, Rainer Grobholz^{8

16}; Swiss Digital Pathology Consortium

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. Andrew.r.janowczyk@emory.edu.
² Department of Oncology, Division of Precision Oncology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. Andrew.r.janowczyk@emory.edu.
³ Department of Diagnostics, Division of Clinical Pathology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. Andrew.r.janowczyk@emory.edu.
⁴ Institute for Tissue Medicine and Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁵ Institute of Animal Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁶ Institute of Pathology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁷ Institute of Pathology Enge, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁸ Medical Faculty, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁹ Basys Data GmbH, Basel, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Division of Clinical Pathology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹¹ Department of Pathology and Immunology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹² Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland.
¹³ Institute of Pathology, University Hospital and Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
¹⁴ Institute of Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁵ Istituto Cantonale Di Patologia EOC, Locarno, Switzerland.
¹⁶ Institute of Pathology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland.
¹⁷ Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁸ Institute of Pathology, Cantonal Hospital Baselland, Liestal, Switzerland.
¹⁹ Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University and University Hospital of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
²⁰ Pathologie Zentrum Zürich Medica, Zurich, Switzerland.
²¹ Institute of Pathology, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
²² Pathologie Luzerner Kantonsspital (Pathology Cantonal Hospital Lucerne), Spitalstrasse, Switzerland.
²³ Research & Analytic Services University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
²⁴ Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
²⁵ University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

PMID: 38112792
PMCID: PMC11271322
DOI: 10.1007/s00428-023-03712-5

Swiss digital pathology recommendations: results from a Delphi process conducted by the Swiss Digital Pathology Consortium of the Swiss Society of Pathology

Andrew Janowczyk et al. Virchows Arch. 2024 Jul.

. 2024 Jul;485(1):13-30.

doi: 10.1007/s00428-023-03712-5. Epub 2023 Dec 19.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. Andrew.r.janowczyk@emory.edu.
² Department of Oncology, Division of Precision Oncology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. Andrew.r.janowczyk@emory.edu.
³ Department of Diagnostics, Division of Clinical Pathology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. Andrew.r.janowczyk@emory.edu.
⁴ Institute for Tissue Medicine and Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁵ Institute of Animal Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁶ Institute of Pathology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁷ Institute of Pathology Enge, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁸ Medical Faculty, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁹ Basys Data GmbH, Basel, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Division of Clinical Pathology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹¹ Department of Pathology and Immunology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹² Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland.
¹³ Institute of Pathology, University Hospital and Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
¹⁴ Institute of Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁵ Istituto Cantonale Di Patologia EOC, Locarno, Switzerland.
¹⁶ Institute of Pathology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland.
¹⁷ Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁸ Institute of Pathology, Cantonal Hospital Baselland, Liestal, Switzerland.
¹⁹ Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University and University Hospital of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
²⁰ Pathologie Zentrum Zürich Medica, Zurich, Switzerland.
²¹ Institute of Pathology, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
²² Pathologie Luzerner Kantonsspital (Pathology Cantonal Hospital Lucerne), Spitalstrasse, Switzerland.
²³ Research & Analytic Services University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
²⁴ Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
²⁵ University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

PMID: 38112792
PMCID: PMC11271322
DOI: 10.1007/s00428-023-03712-5

Abstract

Integration of digital pathology (DP) into clinical diagnostic workflows is increasingly receiving attention as new hardware and software become available. To facilitate the adoption of DP, the Swiss Digital Pathology Consortium (SDiPath) organized a Delphi process to produce a series of recommendations for DP integration within Swiss clinical environments. This process saw the creation of 4 working groups, focusing on the various components of a DP system (1) scanners, quality assurance and validation of scans, (2) integration of Whole Slide Image (WSI)-scanners and DP systems into the Pathology Laboratory Information System, (3) digital workflow-compliance with general quality guidelines, and (4) image analysis (IA)/artificial intelligence (AI), with topic experts for each recruited for discussion and statement generation. The work product of the Delphi process is 83 consensus statements presented here, forming the basis for "SDiPath Recommendations for Digital Pathology". They represent an up-to-date resource for national and international hospitals, researchers, device manufacturers, algorithm developers, and all supporting fields, with the intent of providing expectations and best practices to help ensure safe and efficient DP usage.

Keywords: DP usage; Delphi process; Digital pathology; Integration; Swiss Digital Pathology Consortium.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Janowczyk provides consulting for Merck, Lunaphore, and Roche, the latter of which he also has a sponsored research agreement. Dr. Koelzer has acted as an invited speaker for Sharing Progress in Cancer Care (SPCC) and Indica Labs and holds sponsored research agreements with Roche and IAG. Mr. Kupferschmid is employed by Basys Data GmbH.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Example of selection criteria compared in two different systems using a scoring model: The criteria should have the same scale (e.g., 1–10) and can be weighted to give more importance to, e.g., diagnostic and workflow aspects

**Fig. 2**
Example validation protocol for comparing diagnosis from glass slide with those of digital slides

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Swiss digital pathology recommendations: results from a Delphi process conducted by the Swiss Digital Pathology Consortium of the Swiss Society of Pathology

Affiliations

Swiss digital pathology recommendations: results from a Delphi process conducted by the Swiss Digital Pathology Consortium of the Swiss Society of Pathology

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources