Image Montaging for Creating a Virtual Pathology Slide: An Innovative and Economical Tool to Obtain a Whole Slide Image

Abstract

Background. Microscopes are omnipresent throughout the field of biological research. With microscopes one can see in detail what is going on at the cellular level in tissues. Though it is a ubiquitous tool, the limitation is that with high magnification there is a small field of view. It is often advantageous to see an entire sample at high magnification. Over the years technological advancements in optics have helped to provide solutions to this limitation of microscopes by creating the so-called dedicated “slide scanners” which can provide a “whole slide digital image.” These scanners can provide seamless, large-field-of-view, high resolution image of entire tissue section. The only disadvantage of such complete slide imaging system is its outrageous cost, thereby hindering their practical use by most laboratories, especially in developing and low resource countries. Methods. In a quest for their substitute, we tried commonly used image editing software Adobe Photoshop along with a basic image capturing device attached to a trinocular microscope to create a digital pathology slide. Results. The seamless image created using Adobe Photoshop maintained its diagnostic quality. Conclusion. With time and effort photomicrographs obtained from a basic camera-microscope set up can be combined and merged in Adobe Photoshop to create a whole slide digital image of practically usable quality at a negligible cost.

Uso de la simulación en la enseñanza de la patología quirúrgica

“…Existen dos trabajos que de manera interesante describen una forma innovadora y económica para escanear las láminas: en uno se usa una cámara acoplada a un microscopio con la cual se toman multitud de fotos de forma manual y luego se reconstruye la lámina virtual al crear una panorámica en un programa externo, siendo este un proceso bastante dispendioso y que toma tiempo (36), y en el otro se usa un microscopio estándar modificado con controladores robóticos (37).…”

Effectiveness of a Cloud-Based Telepathology System in China: Large-Sample Observational Study

“…After a half a century of development, many uses of telepathology have been developed, with powerful features that can promptly transmit static, dynamic, and whole-slide images. The whole-slide imaging system is the most advanced means to view scanned and digitized slides in their entirety, with high-resolution digital images and superior zoom capability [ 10 - 12 ]. Whole-slide imaging has therefore been considered to be an ideal method for telepathology [ 13 ].…”

Virtual microscopy enhances the reliability and validity in histopathology curriculum: Practical guidelines

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