• Rebecca Randell, Roy A Ruddle, Rhys G Thomas, Claudia Mello-Thoms, and Darren Treanor.
• School of Healthcare, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9UT, UK. Electronic address: r.randell@leeds.ac.uk.
• Hum. Pathol. 2014 Oct 1; 45 (10): 2101-6.

AbstractDigital pathology promises a number of benefits in efficiency in surgical pathology, yet the longer time required to review a virtual slide than a glass slide currently represents a significant barrier to the routine use of digital pathology. We aimed to create a novel workstation that enables pathologists to view a case as quickly as on the conventional microscope. The Leeds Virtual Microscope (LVM) was evaluated using a mixed factorial experimental design. Twelve consultant pathologists took part, each viewing one long cancer case (12-25 slides) on the LVM and one on a conventional microscope. Total time taken and diagnostic confidence were similar for the microscope and LVM, as was the mean slide viewing time. On the LVM, participants spent a significantly greater proportion of the total task time viewing slides and revisited slides more often. The unique design of the LVM, enabling real-time rendering of virtual slides while providing users with a quick and intuitive way to navigate within and between slides, makes use of digital pathology in routine practice a realistic possibility. With further practice with the system, diagnostic efficiency on the LVM is likely to increase yet more. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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