2005 Scientific Session Abstracts
A DVD Format for WSI
Jose Galvez MD (jjgalvez@ucdavis.edu), Alexander Velasquez MD, and Robert Cardiff, MD, PhD, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA
Context: Whole slide imaging (WSI) is increasingly used in pathology. Many medical schools use WSI to replace student microscopic slide sets. However, WSI needs server infrastructure for images and annotations, making WSI impractical as personal digital libraries. We have designed a self-contained, DVD-based application for the distribution and viewing of WSI using commercial, open-source software. DVDs were used at Mouse Models of Human Cancers Consortium (MMHCC) and Eumorphia pathology workshops.
Technology: The WSI server software (Zoomify®) has two java web servlets. An open-source java web container was modified for distribution on DVD's. Java server pages (JSP) were utilized to display the list of WSI in the DVD catalog. The Zoomify image server servlets were included on the DVD allowing for display within the Zoomify Flash® object. WSI annotation was done by exporting the annotation from the UCD Imagearchive WSI annotation system, another UCD-developed, web-based tool. WSI annotations were then exported to extensible style-sheet language (XML)-compatible files.
Design: The pathology workshops used WSI rather then traditional slide boxes for their 2005 conferences. The DVD's allowed participants to virtually examine the digital slide sets and to read the annotations. Users were asked to add additional annotations at the conference websites.
Results: All the workshop participants could visualize the WSI using personal computers. The participants reported positive experiences and the applications operated across the country and the Atlantic Ocean. However, the participants were reluctant to annotate.
Conclusion: Every pathologist has personal collections of slides representing interesting and classic cases. Before the advent of WSI, recuts were expensive and difficult to transport. WSI has made digital slide sets available to everyone who has access to client-servers. This program expands the distribution of “recut” slide sets by providing server-independent software and instant portability.