Virtual microscopy in cytotechnology education: Application of knowledge from virtual to glass

Abstract

<jats:sec id="st1"><jats:title>Background:</jats:title><jats:p>Virtual microscopy (VM) is a technology in which the glass slides are converted into digital images. The main objective of this study is to determine if cellular morphology, learned through virtual microscopy, can be applied to glass slide screening.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="st2"><jats:title>Materials and Methods:</jats:title><jats:p>A total of 142 glass slides (61 teaching and 81 practice) of breast, thyroid, and lymph node fine needle aspiration body sites were scanned with a single focal plane (at 40X) using iScanCoreo Au (Ventana, Tuscan, AZ, USA, formerly known as BioImagene, California, USA). Six students including one distant student used these digital images to learn cellular morphology and conduct daily screening. Subsequently, all the students were tested on 10 glass slides using light microscopy (LM). At the end of the study, the students were asked to respond to an online survey on their virtual microscopy experience. The glass slide screening test scores of the participating students who were taught through VM and tested on glass slides (VMLM group) were compared with the last three classes of students who were taught through LM and tested on glass slides (LMLM group).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="st3"><jats:title>Results:</jats:title><jats:p>A non-parametric statistical analysis indicated no difference (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic>= 0.20) in the glass screening test scores between VMLM (median = 93.5) and LMLM groups (median = 87). The survey indicated that the annotated teaching slides and access to the VM, off campus, were well appreciated by the students.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="st4"><jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title><jats:p>Although the students preferred LM, they were able to apply the cytological criteria learned through VM to glass slide screening. Overall, VM was considered a great teaching tool.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Once Upon a Microscopic Slide: The Story of Histology

“…The use of virtual microscopy is now an accepted and often integral part of teaching histology [12]. Compared to the traditional methods, it helps medical schools teach the same amount of material given the cut down the basic sciences modules have faced in the newer curriculum.…”

“…Most universities started relying on virtual microscopy, which would use a single slide of the specimen, which is scanned and projected onto a screen where all students can view the image. It has become a widely used technology in the medical education of pathology and histology [12]. During the past 3 decades, various teaching strategies and activities were adopted to reach a good integration and offer anatomical sciences in a very clinically relevant approach that facilitates learning and promotes self-learning and critical thinking.…”

“…However, the field nowadays is shifting towards more electronic resources of teaching. Electronic resources are thought to be more student-friendly, more time efficient, and less costly [12]. Most universities started relying on virtual microscopy, which would use a single slide of the specimen, which is scanned and projected onto a screen where all students can view the image.…”

“…Histological glass slides are picked based on the quality of preservation and staining. Then, the slides are scanned and converted into digital images [12]. These images are then transferred to special software or simply viewed as images which allow the students to pick their own region of interest from the slide and focus on it.…”

Current Status of Whole-Slide Imaging in Education

“…Moreover, viewing through a CLM may provide a different perceived field width than what is seen on a monitor. WSI has more difficulty in generating appropriate images due to the difficulties in focusing the images at different levels [48]. This problem can be solved with the use of software packages that allow focusing the different levels of the virtual slide thereby more closely simulating the daily practice of cytology.…”