Practical guide to the use of digital slides in histopathology education

Abstract

Digital pathology (the technology whereby glass histology slides are scanned at high resolution, digitised, stored and shared with pathologists, who can view them using microscopy software on a screen) is transforming the delivery of clinical diagnostic pathology services around the world. In addition to adding value to clinical histopathology practice, digital histology slides provide a versatile medium to achieve the educational needs of a variety of learners including undergraduate students, postgraduate doctors in training and those pursuing continuing professional development portfolios. In this guide, we will review the principal use cases for digital slides in training and education and I will share tips for successful use of digital pathology to support a range of learners based on experience gathered at Leeds Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Trust and the National Pathology Imaging Co-Operative during the last 5 years of digital slide usage.

Keywords: Education, Medical; Histology; Medical Informatics Computing.

Figure 1

An example of a digital slide from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Trust digital training archive.

Figure 2

Key advantages of digital slides versus glass slides in histopathology education.

Figure 3

Scaffolding in the zone of proximal development using digital slide-enabled features. Adapted from Vygotsky.

Figure 4

Example of a worksheet to accompany a digital slide case for a histopathology trainee used at Leeds Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Trust (written by the author of this manuscript).