On the Edge of a Digital Pathology Transformation: Views from a Cellular Pathology Laboratory Focus Group

Casmir Turnquist; Sharon Roberts-Gant; Helen Hemsworth; Kieron White; Lisa Browning; Gabrielle Rees; Derek Roskell; Clare Verrill

doi:10.4103/jpi.jpi_38_19

On the Edge of a Digital Pathology Transformation: Views from a Cellular Pathology Laboratory Focus Group

J Pathol Inform. 2019 Dec 3:10:37. doi: 10.4103/jpi.jpi_38_19. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Casmir Turnquist¹, Sharon Roberts-Gant², Helen Hemsworth², Kieron White², Lisa Browning², Gabrielle Rees², Derek Roskell², Clare Verrill^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ University of Oxford Medical School, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
² Department of Cellular Pathology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK.
³ Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Abstract

Introduction: Digital pathology has the potential to revolutionize the way clinical diagnoses are made while improving safety and quality. With a few notable exceptions in the UK, few National Health Service (NHS) departments have deployed digital pathology platforms. Thus, in the next few years, many departments are anticipated to undergo the transition to digital pathology. In this period of transition, capturing attitudes and experiences can elucidate issues to be addressed and foster collaboration between NHS Trusts. This study aims to qualitatively ascertain the benefits and challenges of transitioning to digital pathology from the perspectives of pathologists and biomedical scientists in a department about to undergo the transition from diagnostic reporting via traditional microscopy to digital pathology.

Methods: A focus group discussion was held in the setting of a large NHS teaching hospital's cellular pathology department which was on the brink of transitioning to digital pathology. A set of open questions were developed and posed to a group of pathologists and biomedical scientists in a focus group setting. Notes of the discussion were made along with an audio recording with permission. The discussion was subsequently turned into a series of topic headings and analyzed using content analysis.

Results: Identified benefits of digital pathology included enhanced collaboration, teaching, cost savings, research, growth of specialty, multidisciplinary teams, and patient-centered care. Barriers to transitioning to digital pathology included standardization, validation, national implementation, storage and backups, training, logistical implementation, cost-effectiveness, privacy, and legality.

Conclusion: Many benefits of digital pathology were identified, but key barriers need to be addressed in order to fully implement digital pathology on a trust and national level.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; computational pathology; digital pathology; image analysis; whole-slide imaging.