Cytopathology : official journal of the British Society for Clinical Cytology
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Comparative Study
Digital vs traditional: Are diagnostic accuracy rates similar for glass slides vs whole slide images in a non-gynaecological external quality assurance setting?
The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs introduced virtual microscopy cases into its cytopathology non-gynaecological programme after a short pilot phase, to address the challenges of providing a purely glass slide-based external quality assurance programme to multiple participants both locally and internationally. The use of whole slide image (WSI) cases has facilitated a more robust programme in relation to standardised material and statistical analysis, with access to a wider variety of specimen types and diagnostic entities. ⋯ Diagnostic accuracy, using WSI for cases in our external quality assurance programme is acceptable. As the use of digital microscopy in a large scale external quality assurance programme offers extensive advantages over a glass slide-based format, our results encourage future comparison of diagnostic accuracy for virtual compared to glass slide format at a point in time where pathologists are becoming increasingly familiar with virtual microscopy in everyday practice.